A team from the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine London, conducted a study based on pairs of twins, identical and non-identical, measuring the correlation between odor exuded volunteers and how attractive it was for mosquitoes. Using a device called “olfactometer” technical dragged the smell exuded each twin to a specific site, and sought to determine whether mosquitoes had any special preference or simply acted randomly.
“In the case of identical twins, mosquitoes were attracted equally to both brothers. Instead, in the case of non-identical, the insect response varied. The result suggests that the trait of being or not attractive for these animals is genetically controlled and that, therefore, the probability of being bitten is heritable, “says James Logan, head of the research team, in an article published by PLoS ONE, and reproduces the newspaper La Vanguardia, Spain.
The genetic study would facilitate creating better repellents
From the idea that attraction is genetic, scientists now seek to extract volatile chemical molecules volunteers, which allow identifying which genes are going the oviposition preference of insects.
This would develop a new generation of repellents, which although in many countries continues to be a nuisance just in many other -increasingly according to climate change is a key public health issue, as mosquitoes are vectors of transmission of diseases such as dengue, which until a few decades ago were more circumscribed in warm areas.
“Once we get to identify the genes, we hope to be able to develop a drug, a pill that you take it when you, makes your body to secrete natural repellent. This may be naturally protected without having to embadurnarte every few sprays or creams, “said the London researcher.
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