The chemistry of sex and mosquito-borne disease

Researchers at Cornell University have uncovered a chemical ballet that takes place between aedes aegypti mosquitoes during sex. The study has been published in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

While previous research by the team identified some reproductive proteins produced in male mosquitoes, this is the first study to identify the male proteins that are actually transferred to the female during mating.

By isolating these proteins, researchers said they may one day develop a birth control approach for female mosquitoes that spread the dengue, yellow fever and West Nile viruses. There is currently no effective treatment for dengue fever, a potentially lethal infection that affects millions of people each year.

The researchers found 93 seminal fluid proteins and 52 sperm proteins in the females. Eventually, researchers might be able to use these proteins to develop innovative mosquito control strategies, such as reducing egg production and curbing the female’s appetite for blood, which could ultimately reduce the spread of mosquito-borne, life-threatening illnesses.

Next, the team will determine which proteins have major effects on the female’s physiology. In the lab, they plan to generate mosquitoes that fail to make each of these proteins, mate those males with females and observe whether the females’ responses are perturbed.

By distinguishing between male-derived and female-derived proteins within the female reproductive tract, the researchers can begin to determine which male-derived proteins affect the behaviour and physiology of the females, and how they do it.