Article
Mosquito heat seeking is driven by an ancestral cooling receptor.
Science (New York, N.Y.) - 7 Feb 2020
Greppi Chloe, Laursen Willem J, Budelli Gonzalo, Chang Elaine C, Daniels Abigail M, van Giesen Lena, Smidler Andrea L, Catteruccia Flaminia, Garrity Paul A
Abstract excerpt
Mosquitoes transmit pathogens that kill >700,000 people annually. These insects use body heat to locate and feed on warm-blooded hosts, but the molecular basis of such behavior is unknown. Here, we identify ionotropic receptor IR21a, a receptor conserved throughout insects, as a key mediator of heat seeking in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae Although Ir21a mediates heat avoidance in Drosophila, we find it...
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