gary-blissard Archives - Boyce Thompson Institute

How Viruses Move Through Insects for Transmission of Diseases

Viruses are master parasites that have adapted to infect many host species. Some viruses even use multiple hosts to spread their infections – such as arboviruses that use insects to move their infections to mammalian hosts like humans. Understanding how they move...

Researchers Sequence Genome of “Gluttonous” Tobacco Hornworm

BTI’s Gary Blissard and Michael Kanost of Kansas State University led a team of 114 researchers from 50 institutions and 11 countries to sequence the genome of this important insect model.

Why Teachers Spend Their Vacation Days at BTI

Ongoing relationships with teachers enable Education and Outreach to host valuable professional development workshops on plant and insect science for dedicated teachers.

Invisible Viruses in Everyday Food

Most people get a daily dose of virus in the form of plant or insect viruses that are harmless to humans. Consuming the occasional plant or insect virus should be the least of our worries.