Dennis Lavrov

Dennis V. Lavrov is a Russian Associated Professor of ecology.

Early life

Lavrov have a diploma in biology and zoology from Saint Petersburg State University from which he graduated in 1993. In 2001 he got postdoctoral in biology from University of Michigan. Currently he teaches molecular phylogenetics and invertebrate biology at Iowa State University.

Research

In 1998 Dennis Lavrov along with Wesley M Brown and Jeffrey L Boore have proved that there is a gene translocation link between insects and crustaceans. Two years later, with the same group he studied centipede species named Lithobius forficatus and discovered that only one of the 22 inferred tRNA genes provides a completely paired aminoacyl acceptor stem. In 2002, the same trio discovered an unusual mtDNA sequence in two species of millipedes and in 2004 have studied vermiform group called Pentastomida. During the 2004 study of 4 species (A. armillatus, S. tulumensis, H. macracantha and A. americanus) it was revealed that the gene arrangements of mtDNA shows that the species belong to Branchiura group.