title: A novel olfactory pathway is essential for fast and efficient blood-feeding in mosquitoes.
abstract: In mosquitoes, precise and efficient finding of a host animal is crucial for survival. One of the poorly understood aspects of mosquito blood-feeding behavior is how these insects target an optimal site in order to penetrate the skin and blood vessels without alerting the host animal. Here we provide new findings that a piercing structure of the mouthpart of the mosquitoes, the stylet, is an essential apparatus for the stage in blood feeding. Indeed, the stylet possesses a number of sensory hairs located at the tip of the stylet. These hairs house olfactory receptor neurons that express two conventional olfactory receptors of Aedes aegypti (AaOrs), AaOr8 and AaOr49, together with the odorant co-receptor (AaOrco). In vivo calcium imaging using transfected cell lines demonstrated that AaOr8 and AaOr49 were activated by volatile compounds present in blood. Inhibition of gene expression of these AaOrs delayed blood feeding behaviors of the mosquito. Taken together, we identified olfactory receptor neurons in the stylet involved in mosquito blood feeding behaviors, which in turn indicates that olfactory perception in the stylet is necessary and sufficient for mosquitoes to find host blood in order to rapidly acquire blood meals from a host animal.
authors: WCU Biomodulation Major, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, College of Agriculture &Life Sciences, and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors: Je Won
authors: JW
authors: Jung
authors: WCU Biomodulation Major, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, College of Agriculture &Life Sciences, and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors: Seung-Jae
authors: SJ
authors: Baeck
authors: WCU Biomodulation Major, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, College of Agriculture &Life Sciences, and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors: Haribalan
authors: H
authors: Perumalsamy
authors: Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Hans-Knoell-Strasse 8, D-07745 Jena, Germany.
authors: Bill S
authors: BS
authors: Hansson
authors: WCU Biomodulation Major, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, College of Agriculture &Life Sciences, and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors: Young-Joon
authors: YJ
authors: Ahn
authors: WCU Biomodulation Major, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, College of Agriculture &Life Sciences, and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors: Hyung Wook
authors: HW
authors: Kwon
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001070:Appetitive Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D001769:Blood; D009033:Culicidae; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D009055:Mouth / Q000502:physiology; D009833:Olfactory Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D018034:Olfactory Receptor Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology*