Surprise Findings Suggest Mosquito Odor Sensors Are Sensitive to Molecular Regulation to Avoid Insect Repellents
Published:23 Mar.2022 Source:Johns Hopkins Medicine
In what they call surprise findings, Johns Hopkins Medicine scientists report that -- unlike fruit flies -- mosquitoes' odor sensing nerve cells shut down when those cells are forced to produce odor-related proteins, or receptors, on the surface of the cell. This "expression" process apparently makes the bugs able to ignore common insect repellents.
In contrast, when odor sensors in fruit flies are forced to express odor receptors, it prompts flight from some smelly situations. The findings, published Mar. 8 in Cell Reports, reveal the variation in insect olfactory systems, say the researchers, and add to the growing body of research aimed at improving methods to repel mosquitoes from human skin.