Mechanistic basis of mosquito detection of human odor

Mosquito-borne diseases account for more than 17% of all infectious diseases, causing more than 700000 deaths annually.

Challenged by insecticide resistance, the lead technologies against disease vectors have started to lose what efficacy they once possessed. This has raised the need for the development of new combat strategies for vector control. Mass trapping of mosquitoes using synthetic human odor is a viable option to reduce disease burden.

Such a non-insecticidal approach will play an important role in integrated vector management strategies and broaden the arsenal of available tools to halt pathogen transmission. The composition of this odor, however, needs to be optimized to target additional species.

Using a functional genomic approach, the objective of this study is to provide a comparative and comprehensive analysis of the odorant receptors involved in the detection of human odor by the mosquito, Aedes aegypti, the primary vector of dengue and yellow fever.

The study builds on available data on the odorant receptors of the African malaria mosquito, through which we identified a number of salient human odorants that potently attract an array of mosquito species, as well other disease vectors.

Using a multi-disciplinary approach, combining chemical, behavioral and functional genomic analyses, the aim of the project is to optimize the composition of this synthetic blend, to generate a potential powerful method for the control of mosquitoes and other disease vectors.