Female mosquitoes can transmit deadly bloodborne diseases and are of particular concern in developing areas including sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Mosquito repellants like N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) are of limited utility in these regions because they are effective only at short range and are too expensive and unpleasant for daily use. Another control strategy is to burn propane or melt dry ice in designated areas away from people, releasing carbon dioxide to draw mosquitoes off. This strategy is also expensive as well as logistically complicated. Better control strategies are in great demand.
A new study from Anandasankar Ray (University of California, Riverside) and colleagues now suggests that the notion of catching more flies with honey than with vinegar might also apply to mosquitoes. Mosquitoes identify humans by detecting skin odors in addition to exhaled carbon dioxide. Ray's group identified a neuron in two species of mosquito that responds to skin odor and then screened ∼500,000 compounds in silico to identify pleasant-smelling, safe, affordable compounds that could successfully modify mosquitoes' host-seeking behavior in vivo (Cell 155, 1365–1379; 2013). Ethyl pyruvate, which has a fruity, caramel aroma, was a highly effective repellant, and cyclopentanone, with a minty odor, was as powerful an attractant as carbon dioxide.
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