Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes use a receptor called IR21a to navigate toward warmth, a cue that signals they’re near food (Crystal Zhu, Garrity Lab, Brandeis University).
In a recent Science paper, the Garrity lab reported that they have found an important step in how mosquitoes sense human warmth. Once found, human blood becomes a food source for the insects’ eggs. Unfortunately, mosquito bites have, over the centuries, spread disease and misery among humans.
The lab genetically modified mosquitoes to stop expressing a molecular thermostat called IR21a in their antennae. This reduced the insects’ ability to find the heat generated by humans. The hope is that this discovery will help remove the mosquitoes temperature sensors so they don’t spread disease. This discovery has also been summarized in the Smithsonian Magazine.
Paper: Mosquito heat seeking is driven by an ancestral cooling receptor. Chloe Greppi, Willem J. Laursen, Gonzalo Budelli, Elaine C. Chang, Abigail M. Daniels, Lena van Giesen, Andrea L. Smidler, Flaminia Catteruccia, Paul A. Garrity. Science 07 Feb 2020: Vol. 367, Issue 6478, pp. 681-684.
