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Carboxylic acid responses by a conserved odorant receptor in culicine vector mosquitoes
Author(s) -
Huff Robert M.,
Pitts R. Jason
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
insect molecular biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.955
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1365-2583
pISSN - 0962-1075
DOI - 10.1111/imb.12661
Subject(s) - biology , aedes aegypti , chemoreceptor , host (biology) , vector (molecular biology) , aedes albopictus , insect , zoology , yellow fever , blood meal , chemical ecology , ecology , larva , receptor , genetics , gene , virus , recombinant dna
Many mosquito behaviours that are critical for survival and reproduction depend upon timely responses to chemical cues. Of interest are the effects of volatile organic compounds like carboxylic acids (CAs) that are released by potential blood meal hosts. Short chain CAs are among the primary attractants for host‐seeking females and influence host selection in vector species. Although the behavioural relevance of CA's has been established, less is known about the molecular receptive events that evoke responses to specific compounds, with the Ir family of chemoreceptors being broadly implicated in their detection. In this study, we demonstrate that Or orthologs from two vector species, Aedes aegypti (L.) and Aedes albopictus ( Skuse ), are selectively activated by straight chain carboxylic acids and that these responses are attenuated by the commercial insect repellant N,N‐Diethyl‐meta‐toluamide. Our results suggest that multiple chemoreceptors, representing diverse families, are able to mediate molecular responses to CAs and may therefore underlie important behaviours that directly impact disease‐transmission cycles.