April 22, 2015
By G. Mandela Fernández-Grandon1¤ , Salvador A. Gezan2 , John A. L. Armour3 , John A. Pickett4 , James G. Logan1
Abstract (click here)
Female mosquitoes display preferences for certain individuals over others (click here), which is determined by differences in volatile chemicals produced by the human body and detected by mosquitoes. Body odour can be controlled genetically but the existence of a genetic basis for differential attraction to insects has never been formally demonstrated. This study investigated heritability of attractiveness to mosquitoes by evaluating the response of Aedes aegypti (=Stegomyia aegypti) mosquitoes to odours from the hands of identical and nonidentical twins in a dual-choice assay. Volatiles from individuals in an identical twin pair showed a high correlation in attractiveness to mosquitoes, while non-identical twin pairs showed a significantly lower correlation. Overall, there was a strong narrow-sense heritability of 0.62 (SE 0.124) for relative attraction and 0.67 (0.354) for flight activity based on the average of ten measurements. The results demonstrate an underlying genetic component detectable by mosquitoes through olfaction. Understanding the genetic basis for attractiveness could create a more informed approach to repellent development.
From the article in "The New Zealand Herald." The above abstract was published in 2015.
February 17, 2016
By Tim Spector
By G. Mandela Fernández-Grandon1¤ , Salvador A. Gezan2 , John A. L. Armour3 , John A. Pickett4 , James G. Logan1
Abstract (click here)
Female mosquitoes display preferences for certain individuals over others (click here), which is determined by differences in volatile chemicals produced by the human body and detected by mosquitoes. Body odour can be controlled genetically but the existence of a genetic basis for differential attraction to insects has never been formally demonstrated. This study investigated heritability of attractiveness to mosquitoes by evaluating the response of Aedes aegypti (=Stegomyia aegypti) mosquitoes to odours from the hands of identical and nonidentical twins in a dual-choice assay. Volatiles from individuals in an identical twin pair showed a high correlation in attractiveness to mosquitoes, while non-identical twin pairs showed a significantly lower correlation. Overall, there was a strong narrow-sense heritability of 0.62 (SE 0.124) for relative attraction and 0.67 (0.354) for flight activity based on the average of ten measurements. The results demonstrate an underlying genetic component detectable by mosquitoes through olfaction. Understanding the genetic basis for attractiveness could create a more informed approach to repellent development.
From the article in "The New Zealand Herald." The above abstract was published in 2015.
February 17, 2016
By Tim Spector
Everyone (click here) who has ever been camping or walking in the wild with friends can't have failed to notice how insects seem to prefer some people's flesh to others. Some unlucky souls are totally covered in itchy red blotches and others are miraculously spared. Sometimes only some family members are affected. My mother has never been bitten by a mosquito (though fleas like her) while my brother and I are often the targets.
Previous observations have shown a higher mosquito preference for larger people(who produce more CO2), beer drinkers and pregnant women, and although diet was often suspected as a factor, nothing in what we eat (even garlic) stood up to scrutiny....
