World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!

D-Index & Metrics

Biology and Biochemistry

D-Index
66
Citations
15424
World Ranking
8682
National Ranking
3895

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2019 - Fellow, National Academy of Inventors
  • 2005 - Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Overview

Walter S. Leal is affiliated with the University of California, Davis in the United States. Their research focuses primarily on Agricultural and Biological Sciences and Neuroscience, with an emphasis on Insect Science and Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience.

The research topics covered by Walter S. Leal include:

  • Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
  • Insect Pest Control Strategies
  • Insect Utilization and Effects
  • Insect and Pesticide Research
  • Mosquito-borne diseases and control
  • Forest Insect Ecology and Management
  • Insect Pheromone Research and Control

Their recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on insect olfaction, insect behavior, and vector control in various contexts:

  • Circabidian rhythm of sex pheromone reception in a scarab beetle, 2024, Current Biology
  • Mosquito odorant receptor sensitive to natural spatial repellents and inhibitory compounds, 2022, Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
  • Colletotrichum falcatum modulates the olfactory behavior of the sugarcane borer, favoring pathogen infection, 2022, FEMS Microbiology Ecology
  • Potential Nosocomial Infections by the Zika and Chikungunya Viruses in Public Health Facilities in the Metropolitan Area of Recife, Brazil, 2022, Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
  • Single amino acid residue mediates reciprocal specificity in two mosquito odorant receptors, 2022, eLife

Key frequent coauthors in their works include:

  • Pingxi Xu
  • Sunny An
  • Young-Moo Choo
  • Gabriel Leal
  • Flávia P. Franco

Walter S. Leal has published multiple articles in venues such as bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Current Biology, FEMS Microbiology Ecology, and Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, with the highest number of publications in bioRxiv.

The scientist's subfields of study include:

  • Insect Science
  • Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
  • Plant Science
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Ecology

Walter S. Leal has been recognized as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors since 2019 and as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) since 2005.

Best Publications

  • Odorant Reception in Insects: Roles of Receptors, Binding Proteins, and Degrading Enzymes

    Walter S. Leal

  • Sexual attraction in the silkworm moth: structure of the pheromone-binding-protein-bombykol complex.

    Benjamin H Sandler;Larisa Nikonova;Walter S Leal;Jon Clardy

  • Mosquitoes smell and avoid the insect repellent DEET.

    Zainulabeuddin Syed;Walter S. Leal

  • NMR structure reveals intramolecular regulation mechanism for pheromone binding and release.

    Reto Horst;Fred Damberger;Peter Luginbühl;Peter Güntert

  • Conformational Change in the Pheromone-binding Protein fromBombyx mori Induced by pH and by Interaction with Membranes

    Hubert Wojtasek;Walter S. Leal

  • Acute olfactory response of Culex mosquitoes to a human- and bird-derived attractant

    Zainulabeuddin Syed;Walter S. Leal

  • Disulfide structure of the pheromone binding protein from the silkworm moth, Bombyx mori.

    Walter S Leal;Larisa Nikonova;Guihong Peng

  • Zika virus replication in the mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus in Brazil

    Duschinka Rd Guedes;Marcelo Hs Paiva;Marcelo Hs Paiva;Mariana Ma Donato;Priscilla P Barbosa

  • Rapid inactivation of a moth pheromone

    Yuko Ishida;Walter S. Leal

  • Kinetics and molecular properties of pheromone binding and release

    Walter S. Leal;Angela M. Chen;Yuko Ishida;Vicky P. Chiang

  • Multifunctional communication inRiptortus clavatus (Heteroptera: Alydidae): Conspecific nymphs and egg parasitoidOoencyrtus nezarae use the same adult attractant pheromone as chemical cue

    Walter Soares Leal;Hiroya Higuchi;Nobuo Mizutani;Hiroaki Nakamori

  • Knockdown of a Mosquito Odorant-binding Protein Involved in the Sensitive Detection of Oviposition Attractants

    Julien Pelletier;Aline S. Guidolin;Zainulabeuddin Syed;Anthony J. Cornel

  • CHEMICAL ECOLOGY OF PHYTOPHAGOUS SCARAB BEETLES

    Walter Soares Leal

  • Green leaf volatile‐detecting olfactory receptor neurones display very high sensitivity and specificity in a scarab beetle

    BilL. S. Hansson;Mattias C. Larsson;Walter S. Leal

  • Reverse and conventional chemical ecology approaches for the development of oviposition attractants for Culex mosquitoes.

    Walter S. Leal;Rosângela M. R. Barbosa;Wei Xu;Yuko Ishida

  • Mosquito odorant receptor for DEET and methyl jasmonate

    Pingxi Xu;Young-Moo Choo;Alyssa De La Rosa;Walter S. Leal

  • The crystal structure of an odorant binding protein from Anopheles gambiae: Evidence for a common ligand release mechanism.

    Mark Wogulis;Tania Morgan;Yuko Ishida;Walter S. Leal

  • Pheromone reception in fruit flies expressing a moth's odorant receptor.

    Zainulabeuddin Syed;Yuko Ishida;Katherine Taylor;Deborah A. Kimbrell

  • The enigmatic reception of DEET — the gold standard of insect repellents

    Walter S Leal

  • Attracted or Repelled?—A Matter of Two Neurons, One Pheromone Binding Protein, and a Chiral Center

    Hubert Wojtasek;Bill S. Hansson;Walter Soares Leal

Frequent Co-Authors

Kurt Wüthrich
Kurt Wüthrich ETH Zurich
Jerrold Meinwald
Jerrold Meinwald Cornell University
José Roberto Postali Parra
José Roberto Postali Parra Universidade de São Paulo
Bill S. Hansson
Bill S. Hansson Max Planck Society
Coby Schal
Coby Schal North Carolina State University
Jon Clardy
Jon Clardy Harvard University
Frank G. Zalom
Frank G. Zalom University of California, Davis
Nannan Liu
Nannan Liu Auburn University
Eric Haubruge
Eric Haubruge University of Liège
Frédéric Francis
Frédéric Francis Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech

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