Heritability of attractiveness to mosquitoes.
Female mosquitoes display preferences for certain individuals over others, 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 inse...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2015-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4406498?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1819208592453009408 |
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| author | G Mandela Fernández-Grandon Salvador A Gezan John A L Armour John A Pickett James G Logan |
| author_facet | G Mandela Fernández-Grandon Salvador A Gezan John A L Armour John A Pickett James G Logan |
| author_sort | G Mandela Fernández-Grandon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Female mosquitoes display preferences for certain individuals over others, 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 non-identical 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T05:41:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ccd6f45f563b44dbb592020b63d9f8ab |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T05:41:50Z |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-ccd6f45f563b44dbb592020b63d9f8ab2022-12-21T17:58:10ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032015-01-01104e012271610.1371/journal.pone.0122716Heritability of attractiveness to mosquitoes.G Mandela Fernández-GrandonSalvador A GezanJohn A L ArmourJohn A PickettJames G LoganFemale mosquitoes display preferences for certain individuals over others, 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 non-identical 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.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4406498?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | G Mandela Fernández-Grandon Salvador A Gezan John A L Armour John A Pickett James G Logan Heritability of attractiveness to mosquitoes. PLoS ONE |
| title | Heritability of attractiveness to mosquitoes. |
| title_full | Heritability of attractiveness to mosquitoes. |
| title_fullStr | Heritability of attractiveness to mosquitoes. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Heritability of attractiveness to mosquitoes. |
| title_short | Heritability of attractiveness to mosquitoes. |
| title_sort | heritability of attractiveness to mosquitoes |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4406498?pdf=render |
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