Mosquitoes smell and avoid the insect repellent DEET.

ABSTRACT: The insect repellent DEET is effective against a variety of medically important pests, but its mode of action still draws considerable debate. The widely accepted hypothesis that DEET interferes with the detection of lactic acid has been challenged by demonstrated DEET-induced repellency in the absence of lactic acid. The most recent hypothesis suggests that DEET masks or jams the olfactory system by attenuating electrophysiological responses to 1-octen-3-ol. Our research shows that mosquitoes smell DEET directly and avoid it. We performed single-unit recordings from all functional ORNs on the antenna and maxillary palps of Culex quinquefasciatus and found an ORN in a short trichoid sensillum responding to DEET in a dose-dependent manner. The same ORN responded with higher sensitivity to t

SUBMITTER: Syed Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2518096 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature