IIGB Researcher Paves Way for Mosquito Repellents
IIGB Researcher Paves Way for Mosquito Repellents
IIGB researchers working on fruit flies in the lab have discovered a novel class of compounds that could pave the way for developing inexpensive and safe mosquito repellents for combating West Nile virus and other deadly tropical diseases. Anandasankar Ray, an assistant professor in the Department of Entomology, and Stephanie Turner, his graduate student, have identified a new class of odorants -- chemical compounds with smells -- present in ripening fruit that prevent the CO2-sensitive neurons in the fruit fly's antennae from functioning. Since fruit flies undergoing stress emit CO2 that serves as a warning to other fruit flies that danger or predators could be nearby, this discovery explains how flies are able to find their way to fruits and other important food sources that also emit CO2 as a by-product of respiration and ripening. The research has strong implications for control of deadly diseases transmitted by Culex mosquitoes such as West Nile virus disease and filariasis, an infectious tropical disease affecting the lymphatic system. Since 1999, nearly 29,000 people in the United States have been reported with West Nile virus disease. Lymphatic filariasis has affected more than 120 million people in the world.
For further information, please read: UCR Press Release (dated August 26, 2009)
Image Credit: Stephanie Turner, IIGB Graduate Student
Post Date: 2009-08-26