Ph.D, Entomology, 2004-present, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA.

M.S., Cell and Molecular Biology, 2001-2003, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands. B.S. Cell and Molecular Biology 1998-2001, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.

Microplitis demolitor is a parasitoid wasp that is endemic to Australia and can successfully parasitize (and kill) larvae of the soybean looper Pseudoplusia includens, a pest insect that causes serious damage to soybeans in the Southeastern US.  When the female wasp oviposits, she injects a quantity of a polydnavirus known as Microplitis demolitor Bracovirus (MdBV) with the eggs into the host. Survival of M. demolitor offspring inside the host depends on infection of this host with a virus, because MdBV gene products inhibit the host immune system from killing the wasp egg.  Furthermore, infection of earlier instars of P. includens larvae causes a delay in larval development and ultimately inhibition of metamorphosis.

Several MdBV genes have been found to play role in suppressing the host immune system including two PTPs.  No MdBV gene on the other hand has been associated with the observed developmental changes of the infected host larva. Of all MdBV gene families, the PTPs are the strongest candidates to play a role in this process. Numerous cell signaling pathways including those involved in growth and development depend on a tightly regulated, reversible phosphorylation of tyrosine residues. Disruption of the phosphorylation balance by introducing viral PTPs that can act on cellular substrate is therefore likely to cause problems. To gain a more detailed understanding of the effect of viral infection on the physiology of the infected host, we are currently comparing the levels of nutrients and the production of hormones involved in growth and development in infected versus uninfected hosts.

Andrea J. Pruijssers & Michael R. Strand (2007) PTP-H2 and PTP-H3 from Microplitis demolitor Bracovirus localize to focal adhesions and are antiphagocytic in insect immune cells. Journal of Virology 81:1209-19.

Boris Striepen, Andrea J. P. Pruijssers, Jingling Huang, Catherine Li, Marc-Jan Gubbels, Nwakaso N. Umejiego, Lizbeth Hedstrom, Jessica C. Kissinger (2004) Gene transfer in the evolution of parasite nucleotide biosynthesis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 101: 3154-3159.

Gorben P. Pijlman, Andrea J. P. Pruijssers and Just M. Vlak (2003) Identification of pif-2, a third conserved baculovirus gene required for per os infection of insects. Journal of General Virology, 84: 2041-2049.