Mosquitoes carry many very dangerous diseases. So that they do not spread them, scientists want to prevent winged bloodsuckers from peeing.
When sucking blood, mosquitoes must urinate quickly, otherwise they will not fly away, explains Dr. Peter Piermarini, one of the scientists working on a new method of fighting mosquitoes, quoted by EurekAlert. Too much weight limits the mosquito’s ability to fly, as in the case of an overloaded aircraft, the researcher explains.
Together with colleagues at Cornell University, Dr. Piermarini discovered a protein in the Aedes aegypti mosquito that is involved in triggering the urination reaction during blood sucking. Scientists were also able to find a substance that blocks the action of this protein.
Its use causes the blood-drunk mosquito to fly away with a full bladder (or rather the so-called Malpighi coil). This puts him at risk of being hunted – due to his heaviness – and a dangerous physiological reaction – due to excess fluid and mineral salts in the body. By blocking the action of the protein in mosquito populations, it may limit their survival, and thus inhibit the spread of disease.
Aedes aegypti is a mosquito species that transmits the dangerous hemorrhagic fever virus of dengue fever. About 50-100 million people suffer from this disease annually, and about 22 die after contracting this virus (PAP).