Walter Leal
Brazilian entomologist (born 1954)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Walter Soares Leal (born February 2, 1954) is a Brazilian biochemist and entomologist who is known for identifying pheromones[1] and mosquito attractants,[2][3] and elucidating a mechanism of action of the insect repellent DEET.[4][5]
Mie University
University of Tsukuba
Walter S. Leal | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | February 2, 1954 Brazil |
| Education | Chemical engineering, agricultural chemistry, applied biochemistry |
| Alma mater | Federal University of Pernambuco Mie University University of Tsukuba |
| Known for | Identification of insect pheromones and mosquito attractants and elucidating a mode of action of the insect repellent DEET |
| Awards | Fellow, California Academy of Sciences Fellow, National Academy of Inventors Corresponding Member, Brazilian Academy of Science Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science Member, National Academy of Sciences |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Chemical ecology, entomology, insect olfaction |
| Workplaces | University of California, Davis |
| Website | biology |
Leal was the first non-Japanese to earn tenure at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of Japan.[6][7] In 2000, he accepted a position as associate professor at the University of California, Davis. Leal is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology.[8] He served as chair of the entomology department[9] at UC Davis (now Department of Entomology & Nematology).[10]
Education and early life
Leal attended the Federal University of Pernambuco, from which he graduated in 1982 with a B.Eng degree in chemical engineering.[citation needed] In 1987, he got his MS in agricultural chemistry from Mie University in Tsu-Mie, Japan.[citation needed] While still residing in Japan, Leal attended the University of Tsukuba, division of Applied Biochemistry, graduating with a Ph.D. three years later.[11] While in high school, Leal worked as a sports reporter to pay tuition and fees and later as a high school teacher – a career he started while a freshman in college, under the supervision of his favorite teacher, Aloísio Guimarães Sotero.[citation needed]
Research
Leal has identified complex pheromones from many insect species, including scarab beetles,[12][13] true bugs,[14] long-horned beetles,[15] and moths.[16] Intrigued by chiral discrimination by scarab beetles,[17] he became interested in the molecular basis of insect olfaction. His laboratory discovered a pH-dependent conformational change in pheromone-binding proteins (PBPs) from moths[18] before their 3D structures were known. In collaboration with Jon Clardy and Nobel Laureate Kurt Wuthrich, they determine the first 3D structures of PBPs.[19][20] Subsequently, his laboratory studied the kinetics of pheromone binding and release by PBPs.[21] Leal laboratory fully identified the first odorant-degrading enzymes from moths[22] and scarab beetles.[23] In 2005, Leal coined the term “reverse chemical ecology” for employing olfactory proteins to identify semiochemicals of potential practical applications.[24] Using this approach, he identified oviposition attractants for mosquitoes. His laboratory identified olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) highly sensitive to nonanal, which might play a crucial role in Culex mosquitoes shifting from birds to humans, implicated in West Nile virus transmission. Leal and his collaborators identified mosquito ORNs sensitive to DEET[25][26] and subsequently identified an odorant receptor, CquiOR136, sensitive to DEET and other commercially available insect repellents.[27] Leal and collaborators discovered a receptor, CquiOR32, with dual inhibitory/excitatory properties manifested in the Xenopus oocyte recording system, in flies and mosquito behavior.[28] Leal laboratory demonstrated for the first time that mosquitoes respond to carbon dioxide with a heterodimer formed by GR2 and GR3, not as GR1/GR3 as previously hypothesized.[29] They also demonstrated that CO2 per se, not bicarbonate, activates these receptors. Leal is the author and co-author of more than 220 scientific articles.[30]
Major services to the scientific community
Leal served as Councilor and President of the International Society of Chemical Ecology. Along with Alvin Simmons, Leal served as co-chair of the 2016 International Congress of Entomology.[31] At the beginning of the COVID pandemic, Leal organized a series of COVID symposia, which drew thousands of attendees. In 2021, he organized a symposium, "Insect Olfaction and Taste in 24 Hours Around the Globe", to provide a platform for young scholars to highlight their recent work and interact with other well-established scholars in the field.[32]
Awards
- Member of the National Academy of Sciences (2024)[33]
- Honorary Member, Entomological Society of America[34]
- Academic Senate's 2022 Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Award[35]
- Distinguished Teaching Award for Undergraduate Teaching, UC Davis Academic Senate (2020)[36]
- Award for Excellence in Teaching, Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America (2020)[37]
- Founders’ Memorial Award, Entomological Society of America (2019)[38]
- Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (2019)[39]
- Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences (2015)[40]
- Honorary Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society (2015),[41]
- Corresponding Member, Brazilian Academy of Sciences[42] (2012)
- Silver Medal, International Society of Chemical Ecology (2012)[43]
- Nan-Yao Su Award for Innovation and Creativity in Entomology (2011) [44]
- Fellow of the Entomological Society of America (2008)[45]
- Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2005)[46]
- Gakkai-show (Fellow-like award), Japanese Society of Applied Entomology and Zoology (1998)[citation needed]
- Entomological Society of Brazil Award, Medal of Achievement (1995)[citation needed]
- Gijitsusho (Technology Prize), Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology & Agrochemistry (1994)[citation needed]