Shahid, Mejeed
- Department of Plant Protection Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Research article2017Peer reviewedOpen access
Majeed, Shahid; Hill, Sharon Rose; Dekker, Teun; Ignell, Rickard
Natural selection has favoured specialization in anthropophilic mosquito host choice, yet in the absence of human hosts, females feed on a selected range of vertebrates. For host recognition, we hypothesize that mosquitoes primarily rely on generic host volatiles. Detection and perception of such compounds would provide the mosquito with a flexible, yet constrained, odour coding system that could delineate host preference. In this study, we show that the quintessential generic volatile for host-seeking, carbon dioxide, activates and attracts the malaria mosquito, Anopheles coluzzii, and the arbovirus vectors, Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus, within boundaries set by the dynamic range and coding capacity of the CO2-sensitive olfactory receptor neurons. These boundaries are sufficiently broad to elicit behavioural responses to various hosts within their preferred host range. This study highlights the significance of the sensitivity of the carbon dioxide detection system and its regulation of host seeking and recognition.
carbon dioxide; behaviour; electrophysiology; host recognition
Royal Society Open Science
2017, Volume: 4, number: 5, article number: 170189
Publisher: ROYAL SOC
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Zoology
Behavioral Sciences Biology
Ecology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.170189
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/83739