How Do Mosquitoes Use Your Blood to Make Eggs?
WouterAmong the most formidable disease transmitters in the animal kingdom, mosquitoes kill hundreds of thousands of people each year. Their bites are the cause of many human infections, including malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever. They also transmit diseases to animals.
Scientists have long sought to understand the anatomy of the mosquito bite. They have attempted to analyze the cellular mechanisms that enable mosquitoes to use blood to make eggs. However, they haven’t been able to determine exactly how this process works.
Using a powerful microscope, researchers studied the feeding system of female mosquitoes. They found that the insects need specific proteins in their blood to form eggs. They also found that the eggs are affected by different components of blood. The researchers hope that their work will lead to the development of new repellents.
In order for the mosquito to successfully produce eggs, it must be able to absorb and transport iron to its ovaries. The amount of iron in a blood meal must be sufficient to meet the needs of the mosquito. It is important to find out how the mosquito metabolizes its own iron.
The laboratory of Dr Leslie Vosshall at The Rockefeller University studied the biological response of female mosquitoes to blood. They tested three groups of mosquitoes. Each group was fed either whole blood, blood fractions, or purified major blood proteins.
They found that each type of blood fed to the mosquitoes produced a proportion of hatching eggs. Several specific markers of reproductive response were measured, including the amount of yolk deposited into oocytes, the number of mature eggs laid, and ovarian ecdysteroidogenesis.
