Geneticists close in on how mosquitoes sniff out human sweat
A protein in the antennae of Aedes aegypti detects lactic acid wafting off skin
By Susan Milius
Geneticists have found a scent-sniffer protein molecule in mosquito antennae that — if somehow jammed — might leave a bloodsucker confused about whether we’re human enough to bite.
Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which can spread Zika and dengue, prefer human blood to the blood of other animals. A string of experiments now shows that a protein called IR8a, found in the insects’ antennae, is one of the molecules necessary for detecting lactic acid, a component of human sweat, wafting by.