In a mosquito responsible for transmission of malaria, heat-seeking behavior - critical to this insect's ability to locate and feed on warm-blooded hosts - relies on a thermoreceptor that was once focused on heat avoidance (to help the mosquito keep cool). Today, the receptor is wired for heat targeting (to help the insect find its next meal). A new study reporting this finding, by suggesting a means to block mosquito heat-seeking, may help guide the development of novel methods for controlling mosquito-borne illnesses like malaria.
Of all insect vectors, mosquitoes are perhaps the most famous, responsible for transmitting a host of different pathogens. Efforts to control malaria through vaccines or its mosquito-vectors using pesticides have proven difficult, leading researchers to pursue alternative strategies.
Like other disease-spreading insects, mosquitoes use specialized receptors that sense body heat to target the source of their next blood meal. However, the molecular basis of their heat-seeking behavior remains unknown.
Researchers evaluated whether ancestral cooling-activated receptors play a role in heat sensing in Anopheles gambiae - the primary mosquito vector responsible for the transmission of malaria in most of sub-Saharan Africa.
Using genome-wide analyses and labeled CRISPR-Cas9 mutants, researchers identified the evolutionarily conserved sensory thermoreceptor IR21a as a key driver of heat-seeking behaviors. In other insects, Ir21a is a cooling receptor and mediates heat avoidance, allowing the insects to maintain optimal body temperatures.
According to the authors, the evolution of blood-feeding in An. gambiae mosquito involved a repurposing of this ancestral thermoreceptor to facilitate warmth sensing instead. While blocking Ir21a did not wholly end heat-seeking behavior outright, it significantly reduced the ability of female mosquitos to find a source of blood.
"Thermoreception has been a relatively neglected aspect of vector biology, with research efforts focused largely on chemoreception," writes the author in a related Perspective. Identifying the root of thermosensation opens research avenues and possibilities for controlling vector-borne disease, the author says.
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/367/6478/681
Mosquitoes seek heat using repurposed ancestral cooling receptor
- 2,157 views
- Added
Edited
Latest News
New origin of deep brain waves
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Starving cells hijack prote…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Miniature battery-free epid…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Molecular causes of differe…
By newseditor
Posted 16 Apr
Cell's 'garbage disposal' h…
By newseditor
Posted 16 Apr
Other Top Stories
Pro inflammatory molecule modulates brain function
Read more
Antibodies as 'messengers' in the nervous system
Read more
Microbiota-initiated antibody formation in mice
Read more
Universal immune mechanism as a regulator of sleep
Read more
Monoclonal antibody given to preterm babies may reduce wheeze later
Read more
Protocols
MemPrep, a new technology f…
By newseditor
Posted 08 Apr
A tangible method to assess…
By newseditor
Posted 08 Apr
Stem cell-derived vessels-o…
By newseditor
Posted 06 Apr
Single-cell biclustering fo…
By newseditor
Posted 01 Apr
Modular dual-color BiAD sen…
By newseditor
Posted 31 Mar
Publications
The immunobiology of herpes…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Circulating microbiome DNA…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Spindle oscillations in com…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Oligodendroglial macroautop…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
COPII with ALG2 and ESCRTs…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Presentations
Hydrogels in Drug Delivery
By newseditor
Posted 12 Apr
Lipids
By newseditor
Posted 31 Dec
Cell biology of carbohydrat…
By newseditor
Posted 29 Nov
RNA interference (RNAi)
By newseditor
Posted 23 Oct
RNA structure and functions
By newseditor
Posted 19 Oct
Posters
A chemical biology/modular…
By newseditor
Posted 22 Aug
Single-molecule covalent ma…
By newseditor
Posted 04 Jul
ASCO-2020-HEALTH SERVICES R…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-HEAD AND NECK CANCER
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-GENITOURINARY CAN…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar