title: Heritability of attractiveness to mosquitoes.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, WC1E 7HT, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: G Mandela
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Fernández-Grandon
authors.affiliation: School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, United States of America.
authors.forename: Salvador A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Gezan
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2UH, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: John A L
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Armour
authors.affiliation: Biological Chemistry and Crop Protection Department, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, AL5 2JQ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Pickett
authors.affiliation: Department of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, WC1E 7HT, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: James G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Logan
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D005260:Female; D009812:Odorants; D012903:Smell / Q000235:genetics; D014429:Twins, Dizygotic / Q000235:genetics; D014430:Twins, Monozygotic / Q000235:genetics