Researchers from Johns Hopkins University in the United States have revealed the role of a sensory gene in mosquitoes' ability to reach blood vessels and absorb blood during biting, in results that may contribute to developing new means to reduce mosquito bites and the transmission of diseases they carry.
The scientific website One.uz reported on Sunday that the study, published in the journal Science Advances, monitored female mosquito behavior using high-speed imaging and identified five stages of the process: piercing the skin, searching for blood vessels, absorbing blood, retracting mouthparts, and then departing. The comparison showed that Anopheles coluzzii mosquitoes, vectors of malaria parasites, found blood vessels approximately 17 seconds faster than Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, associated with dengue fever transmission, despite the overall blood-feeding duration being similar for both species at around two and a half minutes.
For his part, the researchers found that disabling the sensory gene IR76b reduced the ability of Anopheles coluzzii mosquitoes to successfully initiate biting and feeding, indicating the importance of this gene in sensory mechanisms that help mosquitoes direct their mouthparts toward blood vessels. The team clarified that a more precise understanding of the biting mechanism could help in the future to develop protective measures that hinder mosquito blood feeding, thereby potentially limiting the transmission of diseases such as malaria and dengue fever.
The team pointed out the need for further studies to understand the role of other sensory pathways that guide mosquitoes during biting, and to verify the possibility of utilizing these results in developing effective protective measures. These results provide a deeper understanding of the sensory mechanisms mosquitoes rely on during biting and blood feeding, opening the door to new research to develop protective measures that contribute to reducing their bites and the transmission of associated diseases.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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