Taste perception in the disease vector mosquito Aedes albopictus

项目总结 蚊子是传播全球传染病的危险病媒。伊蚊 白纹伊蚊(Ae.白纹伊蚊)，也被称为亚洲虎蚊，是一种高度适应和 侵袭性疾病媒介已迅速入侵地球上除南极洲以外的每一块大陆。 蚊子使用化学线索来指导寻找宿主、叮咬和产卵等行为。 对蚊子化学感受的更好的理解可能会极大地促进 病媒控制的新手段。人们已经努力了解蚊子的嗅觉，但 令人惊讶的是，人们对它们的味觉知之甚少。特别是，人们几乎对此一无所知。 品味爱。白纹伊蚊，一种目前在美国传播的疾病媒介，其全球范围正在迅速增长 因为它比其他物种更具竞争力，也因为气候变化。 在这里，我提出了一种多学科的方法，使用电生理学、分子 遗传学和行为分析来研究Ae的味觉机制。白纹伊蚊。 我将阐明该物种味觉编码的基本原理，并系统地筛选 能引起强烈电生理和行为反应的味觉化合物。我将绘制地图 味觉受体在男女味觉器官中的表达及其依赖性描述 它们在进食状态上的表现。我将通过以下方式从功能上测试味觉接受的遗传基础 产生转基因CRISPR突变蚊子。我假设Ae.白纹伊蚊的用途 味觉提示，以指导关键行为，如取食和产卵。其中一些 品尝者可以作为识别寄主的线索。这项研究还可能确定 对控制Ae有用的化学敏感线索。白纹伊蚊及其传播的疾病。

PROJECT SUMMARY Mosquitoes are dangerous disease vectors that transmit global infectious disease. Aedes albopictus (Ae. albopictus), also known as the Asian tiger mosquito, is a highly adaptive and aggressive disease vector that has rapidly invaded every continent on earth except Antarctica. Mosquitoes use chemical cues to guide behaviors such as finding a host, biting, and egg-laying. Improved understanding of mosquito chemoreception may greatly facilitate the development of new means of vector control. Efforts have been made to understand olfaction in mosquitoes, but remarkably little is known about their sense of taste. In particular, virtually nothing is known about taste in Ae. albopictus, a disease vector now in the US whose global range is fast growing because it outcompetes other species and because of climate change. Here I propose a multidisciplinary approach using electrophysiology, molecular genetics, and behavioral analysis to investigate the mechanisms of taste in Ae. albopictus. I will elucidate basic principles of taste coding in this species, and I will systematically screen for taste compounds that evoke strong electrophysiological and behavioral responses. I will map the expression of taste receptors to taste organs of males and females and describe the dependence of their expression on feeding status. I will functionally test the genetic basis of taste reception by generating transgenic CRISPR mutant mosquitoes. I hypothesize that Ae. albopictus uses taste cues to guide critical behaviors such as feeding and oviposition. Some of these tastants may serve as cues in the identification of hosts. This study may also identify chemosensory cues that are useful in controlling Ae. albopictus and the diseases it transmits.