Olfactory maps, coding and behaviours in mosquitoes - novel principles in an old sense

Mosquitoes evolved a unique olfactory system to ensure unbreakable attraction to humans, and to other resources required for survival and reproduction. Humans emit a complex blend of odorants along with carbon dioxide, which attracts female mosquitoes. These cues are detected by members of three chemosensory receptor families.

As opposed to other insects, mosquitoes use an entirely different organisational principle for the detection and processing of olfactory information, in which multiple members of the chemosensory receptor families are co-expressed in a single sensory neuron.

This highly redundant detection system limits the number of neurons needed to detect varied odorants with the same meaning.

In exchange, however, it may limit the ability of mosquitoes to distinguish between odorants detected by receptors expressed in the same sensory neurons.

The purpose of the proposed project is to provide a genetic and functional map of the first sensory processing centre, the antennal lobe, of the dengue mosquito, Aedes aegypti.

Building on a solid understanding of the diverse volatile organic compounds regulating resource seeking in mosquitoes, the aim of this project is to assess the level of functional redundancy, and the mechanism by which valence of ecologically diverse volatile organic compounds is encoded in the antennal lobe.

In addition, we aim at elucidating the neurophysiological basis for how carbon dioxide gates the behavioural attraction towards human odour.