Aedes Aegypti Mosquitoes Detect Acidic Volatiles in Human Odor Using the IR8a Pathway

BACKGROUND Mosquitoes express different degrees of preference towards hosts depending on behavioral, ecological, and physiological factors. These preferences have implications for mosquito‐borne disease risk. This study investigated the effect of human blood groups on the behavior and fecundity of the female Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) from March 2018 to August 2019. In laboratory tests, mosquitoes were fed artificial membrane feeders on A, AB, B, and O blood groups. The level of attraction to different blood groups was tested under controlled conditions with a wind tunnel bioassay. RESULTS The responses of Ae. aegypti to the blood groups treatments in the five‐choice tunnel chambers showed a significant preference (Kruskal‐Wallis (2 = 85.772, df = 4, P < 0.0001) for favor blood group B. Also, the response of Ae. aegypti to olfactory cues (filth) derived from a pool of volunteers cutting across the blood groups showed a similar preference for pattern towards the blood group B. The percentage rate of digestibility in Ae. aegypti was highest in those fed on blood group O, while individuals fed on the AB blood group had the lowest digestion rate. Thus, the rate of digestibility highly varied significantly (P < 0.0001) between blood groups. Overall, Ae. aegypti fed on blood group B had the highest average feeding rate, number of females with eggs, and fecundity level, which showed a significant difference (P < 0.0001) on preferred. CONCLUSION This study provides novel insight into the ABO host choice of Ae. aegypti and reinforces the need for personal protection against dengue virus transmission in light of the increased risk of exposure for individuals with B blood type. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

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“…albopictus and Ae. aegypti 19,20,25 . The wind tunnel bioassays were conducted based on the strength of the anemotactic response of Ae.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Host‐seeking behavior and fecundity of the female Aedes aegypti to human blood types

Khan

Ombugadu

Ahmad

2021

Pest Management Science

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“…There have been multiple attempts to generate genetically modified strains of anthropophilic mosquitoes by masking human odors. This was attempted either by deleting receptors involved in CO2 perception or by those involved in human odor sensing (Degennaro et al, 2013;McMeniman et al, 2014;Raji et al, 2019). However, deletion of either of these receptors did not completely hamper the host seeking abilities of mosquitoes under semi field conditions.…”

Section: Functional Implications Of Gr64b On Olfactory Coding In Ab5b...mentioning

confidence: 99%

No functional contribution of the gustatory receptor, Gr64b, co-expressed in olfactory sensory neurons of Drosophila melanogaster

Mahadevan

Lavista-Llanos

Knaden

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Chemosensation is essential for the survival of insects. Activities like searching for food, mating, and oviposition in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster are to a great extent governed by chemical cues detected via olfaction and gustation. This chemical information is conveyed to higher brain centres via populations of diverse olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) and gustatory sensory neurons (GSNs) expressing olfactory receptors (ORs) and gustatory receptors (GRs), respectively. ORs are exclusively expressed in the antenna and in the maxillary palps, while GRs are widely expressed in the labellum, tarsi, genitalia etc. Interestingly, 14 GRs were previously reported to be expressed in the antenna of D. melanogaster. However, the spatial expression pattern for all GRs and their functional role are still unclear. Recent data challenge the dogma that single OSNs express a single OR. In the present study, we studied the expression of 12 previously reported GRs among sensory structures on the fly antenna using the Gal4-UAS binary expression system. We observed antennal expression of nine out of the 12 reported. Out of these nine, consistent expression was only apparent for Gr64b, and we reconfirmed its presence in OSNs innervating three glomeruli in the antennal lobe. These glomeruli are known to be innervated by ab5A, ab5B and ab8A OSNs, respectively. Next, we generated double labelling crosses with Gr64b and observed co-expression of Gr64b with Or47a, which is expressed in the ab5B neuron. To elucidate the functional role of Gr64b co-expressed with Or47b, we challenged Or47a-expressing OSNs in wild type and Gr64b-/- mutant flies with odor stimulation using the single sensillum recording technique in two satiation states (fed and starved). Notably, we did not observe any significant odor sensitivity or specificity changes in Gr64b mutants as compared to wild type flies. Taken together, our results reveal co-expression of GRs with ORs in olfactory sensory neurons, while the functional contribution of the GR in this context remains obscure.

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“…The mutations impaired the mosquitoes' ability to detect components of human body odor and CO2, but still left them able to find humans. Mosquitoes with a CRISPR/Cas9-generated mutation for ionotropic olfactory co-receptor, IR8a, were impaired in their ability to respond to acidic odorants that are components of human sweat [79]. This mutation also significantly reduced attraction of female mosquitoes to a human arm.…”

Section: Social Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Female mosquitoes, as moths, integrate multiple sensory cues to find their human host. Mutations in ORCO [25], GR3 [26] and IR8a [79] receptors that detect human body odors, CO2 and acidic components of human sweat respectively, have significantly reduced the ability of Aedes aegypti to find humans.…”

Section: Transgenesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Progress in the use of genetic methods to study insect behavior outside Drosophila

Mansourian

Fandino

Riabinina

2019

Current Opinion in Insect Science

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Aedes Aegypti Mosquitoes Detect Acidic Volatiles in Human Odor Using the IR8a Pathway

Cited by 5 publications

References 45 publications

Host‐seeking behavior and fecundity of the female Aedes aegypti to human blood types

Host‐seeking behavior and fecundity of the female Aedes aegypti to human blood types

No functional contribution of the gustatory receptor, Gr64b, co-expressed in olfactory sensory neurons of Drosophila melanogaster

Progress in the use of genetic methods to study insect behavior outside Drosophila

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