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10-Minute Presentation

Medical, Urban, and Veterinary Entomology

10-min: MUVE, Mosquito Biology and Ecology

Synchronized rhythms in human body odor and mosquito olfactory behavior

Tuesday, November 12, 2024
9:00 AM – 9:12 AM MST
Location: Phoenix Convention Center, 222 A
Oral Presentation
Mosquitoes transmit numerous human pathogens, such as the dengue virus and Plasmodium falciparum, collectively responsible for nearly one million deaths each year. In addition to rising insecticide resistance, it has become increasingly evident that current strategies to control mosquito populations are being confounded by the resilience conferred by mosquitoes’ high levels of behavioral and physiological plasticity. For example, some nocturnal mosquitoes have shifted their biting activity in response to the use of insecticide-treated bednets and are now active early in the morning. Thus, biological rhythms are crucial to disease transmission as they allow mosquitoes to be active and responsive to host cues at times of the day when hosts are available. However, despite clear epidemiological relevance, we know very little about the mechanisms underlying the interaction between the chronobiology and the olfactory behavior of mosquitoes. Combining analytical chemistry, quantitative analysis of behavior, electrophysiology, and transcriptomic analyses, we found that daily rhythms in genes coding for sensory proteins underlie the host-seeking patterns of the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti. Additionally, we observed that mosquito activity patterns are plastic and can synchronize with new time-specific presentations of host olfactory cues. Results will be discussed in the context of the evolution of host preference and the potential for vector control strategies.