Max Scott
VerifiedNorth Carolina State University · Plant Pathology
Active 1985–2026
About
Max Scott is a professor in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at NC State University. His research focuses on the control of gene expression and its application to develop engineered strains for genetic control programs of insect pests. His recent projects include developing male-only strains of livestock pests such as Lucilia cuprina (the Australian sheep blowfly) and Cochliomyia hominivorax (the New World screwworm), as well as for spotted wing Drosophila, an invasive pest of soft-skinned fruit. He is also working on developing gene drive systems for the suppression of these pests and for replacing Aedes aegypti populations with mosquitoes that cannot transmit disease. His work involves fundamental research on gene regulation in Drosophila melanogaster, including the role of the MSL chromatin-modifying complex and histone modifying enzymes in gene expression and memory. Scott's research aims to create genetic tools for pest management, including transgenic sexing strains and gene drive systems, with applications in agriculture and disease control.
Research topics
- Computer Science
- Biology
- Genetics
- Computational biology
- Telecommunications
- Horticulture
- Cell biology
- Mathematics
- Ecology
- Agroforestry
- Engineering
- Agronomy
Selected publications
Ag Data Commons · 2026-02-27
datasetOpen accessThese are supplemental data for producing haplotype-resolved genome assemblies of <i>C. hominivorax </i>using the trio-binning approach. Briefly, a single male progeny from the cross of a Panama line male with a production strain female was sequenced using PacBio HiFi and scaffolded using Hi-C chromatin conformation, while Illumina NextSeq 2000 was used for short read sequencing of both parents to facilitate trio-binning. We produced a linear haploid reference assembly by transferring a copy of the X chromosome and mitochondrial genome to the paternal haplotype. This assembly is comprised of five autosomes, two sex chromosomes, the mitogenome, and 75 unplaced scaffolds spanning 455.6 Mb, which is closer to the predicted size based on flow cytometry (443.8 Mb) than the previous assembly of 534.4 Mb. NCBI’s external Eukaryotic Genome Annotation Pipeline (EGAPx) was used to annotate the protein coding and non-coding genes in the linear haploid reference and the maternal haplotype assembly.This research used resources provided by the SCINet project and/or the AI Center of Excellence of the USDA Agricultural Research Service, ARS project numbers 0201-88888-003-000D and 0201-88888-002-000D.
G3 Genes Genomes Genetics · 2026-02-28
articleOpen accessThe New World screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax, is an obligate parasite of warm-blooded animals and a major pest of livestock and wildlife in the Americas. The first genome assembly for C. hominivorax enabled substantial progress in key areas including gene expression related to fly behavior and physiology and gene editing technologies. However, the first genome was sequenced prior to several technological advances that result in fewer errors and better genome annotations. Here, we used the trio-binning approach to produce haplotype-resolved genome assemblies of C. hominivorax. A single male progeny from the cross of a Panama line male with a production strain female was sequenced using PacBio HiFi and scaffolded using Hi-C chromatin conformation, while Illumina NextSeq 2000 was used for short-read sequencing of both parents to facilitate trio-binning. We produced a linear haploid reference assembly by transferring a copy of the X chromosome and mitochondrial genome to the paternal haplotype. This assembly is comprised of 5 autosomes, 2 sex chromosomes, the mitogenome, and 75 unplaced scaffolds spanning 455.6 Mb, which is closer to the predicted size based on flow cytometry (443.8 Mb) than the previous assembly of 534.4 Mb. NCBI's external Eukaryotic Genome Annotation Pipeline (EGAPx) was used to annotate the protein-coding and non-coding genes in the linear haploid reference and the maternal haplotype assemblies. Due to the better resolution of the sex chromosomes and updated genome annotations, these improved assemblies will advance future experiments aimed at understanding sex determination, gene expression, and the evolution of parasitism in the Calliphoridae.
Open MIND · 2026-02-27
datasetThese are supplemental data for producing haplotype-resolved genome assemblies of <i>C. hominivorax </i>using the trio-binning approach. Briefly, a single male progeny from the cross of a Panama line male with a production strain female was sequenced using PacBio HiFi and scaffolded using Hi-C chromatin conformation, while Illumina NextSeq 2000 was used for short read sequencing of both parents to facilitate trio-binning. We produced a linear haploid reference assembly by transferring a copy of the X chromosome and mitochondrial genome to the paternal haplotype. This assembly is comprised of five autosomes, two sex chromosomes, the mitogenome, and 75 unplaced scaffolds spanning 455.6 Mb, which is closer to the predicted size based on flow cytometry (443.8 Mb) than the previous assembly of 534.4 Mb. NCBI’s external Eukaryotic Genome Annotation Pipeline (EGAPx) was used to annotate the protein coding and non-coding genes in the linear haploid reference and the maternal haplotype assembly.This research used resources provided by the SCINet project and/or the AI Center of Excellence of the USDA Agricultural Research Service, ARS project numbers 0201-88888-003-000D and 0201-88888-002-000D.
Parasites & Vectors · 2025-07-09 · 1 citations
articleOpen accessSenior authorBACKGROUND: The blowfly Lucilia cuprina is a destructive parasite of sheep that causes flystrike or myiasis. Larvae consume the animal's living flesh, producing large wounds that can lead to death. The main aim of this study was to identify genes that may play important roles in the behavior and physiology of L. cuprina larvae. METHODS: An RNA-Seq analysis of RNA from whole larvae at different developmental stages and third-instar head and gut tissues was used to identify sensory receptors and other genes relevant to the physiology of L. cuprina larvae. In addition, CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing was used to obtain a loss-of-function mutation for the L. cuprina odorant coreceptor gene (LcupOrco). The response of mutant larvae and adult females to fresh and rotten meat at different temperatures was evaluated. RESULTS: The RNA-Seq analysis suggested that odorant (OR), gustatory, ionotropic, and Pickpocket receptors may not play a central role in the L. cuprina larval sensory signaling and digestive systems. Rather, ATP-binding cassettes (ABCs) were highly enriched in head and gut RNA, and odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) only in the head. To confirm that ORs are not essential for larval detection of rotten beef, diet-choice assays were performed including larvae and adults homozygous for a null mutation in LcupOrco. While the attraction of adult females to rotten beef was disrupted, LcupOrco mutant larvae showed no change in diet preference. CONCLUSIONS: The expression pattern of the ABC and OBP gene families suggests a central role in the sensory system of the L. cuprina larva for these receptors. Behavioral assays showed that ORs are essential for the adult female response to rotten beef, but not for larval behavior. These findings are consistent with high levels of expression of LcupOrco in the adult female antenna but very low expression in larvae.
Blood · 2025-11-03
articleOpen accessAbstract Next-generation sequencing (NGS) of relevant genes offers critical insights into diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic biomarkers for hematologic malignancies. We present a validated, automated variant oncogenicity workflow for hematologic malignancies, developed at Labcorp and implemented within the GenomOncology (GO) Variant Interpretation Engine software. This system enables high-throughput interpretation of variants across 141 genes included in Myeloid, Lymphoma, and Pan-Heme panels. The workflow integrates the latest ClinGen/CGC/VICC oncogenicity guidelines (Horak et al., 2022) and ACMG/AMP somatic classification criteria (Li et al., 2017) for hotspots, supporting oncogenicity of SNVs, indels, tandem duplications, and select CNVs. Within the oncogenicity workflow, variants are assessed using 22 evidence categories, including population frequency, functional impact, computational predictions, and curated cancer hotspot data. These categories are hierarchically weighted to assign oncogenicity at the earliest point of reliable evidence. The classification logic was refined over 12 iterative cycles using a ground truth dataset of in-house Tier assignments (2018–2022), and implemented as a customizable, template-driven ruleset within the GO platform. We also performed an ongoing prospective quality control (QC) study, which uses a point-based workbench developed in accordance with ClinGen/CGC/VICC (Horak et al., 2022) guideline to assess variant oncogenicity manually. Validation of the oncogenicity workflow was performed on 23,001 myeloid variants and 732 pipeline validation variants, achieving &gt;99% concordance with manual Tier classification in our previous system. In the first 13 weeks following assay launch, we applied this workflow to 7969 unique variants in clinical samples, with a significant improvement in turnaround time (TAT). With the current automated workflow, 99.5% of variants are now classified automatically. We performed a prospective quality control study involving 1,650 randomly selected variants from early clinical testing (49.3% in myeloid genes, 50.7% in lymphoid/other genes) and compared variant oncogenicity between the automated workflow and manual review. Through this study, we identified improvement rules that can be implemented in the automated workflow including gene specific rules and use of subpopulation data in gnomAD v4 database. These enhancements improved the automated workflow to 99.6% concordance between automated and parallel manual review demonstrating both the accuracy and scalability of the automated system. This automated framework enables rapid, reproducible, and scalable variant classification, significantly improving workflow efficiency and supporting consistent clinical decision-making in hematologic oncology.
Homing gene drive strains for genetic suppression of agricultural insect pests
Entomologia Generalis · 2025-12-04
articleSenior authorbioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2025-08-13
preprintOpen accessAbstract Conditional sex transformation systems are promising tools in the fight against insect pests. In this study, we developed and tested CRISPR-based, tetracycline-repressible sex transformation strains in the Australian sheep blowfly, Lucilia cuprina . Two CRISPR effector molecules, Cas9 and dCas9, were employed to target the sex-determining gene transformer with the goal of turning female blowflies into males. The Cas9 version of the system induced robust knockout of a visual marker gene but failed to trigger sex transformation without external provision of transformer -targeting sgRNAs. Furthermore, we found that dCas9 expression was linked to several deleterious phenotypes, including developmental delays, reduced body weight, and death. Our study provides the first proof-of-concept conditional CRISPR systems in L. cuprina , and suggests that while dCas9 is toxic at high levels in this species, Cas9 is well-tolerated and may be able to induce sex transformation with minor modifications to the system.
Journal of Economic Entomology · 2025-10-09
articleSenior authorThe New World screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel, 1858; Diptera: Calliphoridae), was eradicated from North and Central America through the first application of the sterile insect technique. The sterile screwworm adult fly releases were mixed sex, but releasing only males could be much more effective. Here, we describe screwworm transgenic sexing strains (TSSs) with expected embryo lethality. Strains were developed with a Tetracycline-off (Tet-off) system utilizing either the Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann, 1830) nullo (DR6) or Cochliomyia macellaria (Fabricius, 1755) CG14427 (DR7) gene promoter and a tTA-activated effector to promote female lethality. The promoter activity was highest in 2 to 3 h embryos and low in larvae and adults. However, these strains also had unexpected high expression in pupae. Evaluation on two doxycycline (Dox) suppression regimens found that inclusion of Dox in the last larval feeding rescued females of the subsequent generation, likely by maternal transfer of Dox. All TSSs produced only males on a reduced Dox feeding regimen, but the female lethal period for the DR6 TSS was too late in development to reduce diet costs. Production parameters were met by all strains in colony, but strains had lower male fly survival than current production strains after removing Dox. In noncompetitive mating success trials, DR6 strains performed poorly, but DR7 performed equally to production strain males. However, males from all TSSs fared poorly in mating competition tests against production males. Our study highlights the importance of tightly regulated gene promoters and stage-specific antibiotic feeding schemes for the development and evaluation of TSSs based on the Tet-off system.
Scientific Reports · 2025-11-18
articleOpen accessSenior authorThe New World screwworm is an obligate parasitic fly and a significant economic pest of livestock in the Americas. Although eradicated from the USA using the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), enhancing SIT efficiency remains a priority. A promising approach involves conditional female-lethal genetic strains that produce only males in the absence of tetracycline, ideally eliminating females early in development to reduce larval diet costs. However, while some strains match wild-type production levels, lower male fitness reduces the net benefit of replacing the current wild-type strain with one of these genetic-sexing strains. This study aimed to improve strain performance through female-specific expression of both the driver and effector components of the lethality system. We tested four transgenic strains using early embryo-specific promoters from the Chhalo and g6451 genes. Strains with the Chhalo promoter driving tTA expression exhibited early-stage female lethality under a modified doxycycline regimen but suffered from reduced male fitness. In contrast, one strain with the g6451 promoter produced males with excellent fitness but female lethality occurred at the late pupal stage. Despite imperfect female lethality timing, the overall fitness characteristics of this strain makes it a good candidate for future sterile or fertile male release genetic control programs.
Insect Molecular Biology · 2025-07-17
articleOpen accessSenior authorCorrespondingMany eye colour mutants have been identified in Drosophila melanogaster. Mutations in the sepia gene result in brown eyes due to a lack of PDA synthase, which is essential for production of the red drosopterin eye pigment. We previously used CRISPR/Cas9 to target the PDA synthase gene to establish sepia mutant strains for Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae), an invasive global pest of soft skinned fruits. The fecundity and fertility of some of the sepia mutant strains were similar to wild-type. The goal of this study was to determine if the sepia gene could be used as a marker to identify transgenic D. suzukii. By using the sepia gene as a marker, we successfully developed lines expressing Streptomyces phage phiC31 integrase in the germline. For most of these lines, hemizygotes exhibited complete rescue of the sepia eye colour and relatively high levels of phiC31 RNA in ovaries. In contrast, lines with partial rescue showed low levels of sepia RNA in heads and phiC31 RNA in ovaries. These findings suggest that the sepia gene is an effective marker for D. suzukii transgenesis and its relatively small size (1.8 kb) makes it advantageous when assembling large gene constructs. The phiC31 integrase lines established in this study should serve as a valuable resource for future genetic research in D. suzukii, including the further development of strains for genetic biocontrol.
Recent grants
NIH · $48k · 1989
Frequent coauthors
- 24 shared
Carolina Concha
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
- 24 shared
Esther J. Belikoff
- 10 shared
Ying Yan
Inner Mongolia University of Technology
- 9 shared
Megan E. Williamson
- 9 shared
Agustin Sagel
- 8 shared
S. Skoda
University of Cologne
- 8 shared
Aaron M. Tarone
- 7 shared
Jörg C. Heinrich
TU Dresden
Labs
Education
- 1986
PhD, Cell Biology
Baylor College of Medicine
- 1980
Bachelor of Science (Hons)
University of Western Australia
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