It may come as a surprise, but the mosquito is actually the world’s deadliest animal, with Aedes aegypti being one of the most hazardous species. This insect is responsible for spreading viruses that lead to dengue fever, which has been recently declared an epidemic in Puerto Rico. New research indicates the presence of molecules that can label proteins in the Ae. aegypti digestive system’s unique and alkaline environment, offering potential for the development of insecticides to combat this threat.
There is an epidemic in Puerto Rico of mosquitoes that carry diseases such as malaria, Zika, and dengue. The Journal of the American Chemical Society has published research on new molecules that can help scientists develop insecticides to combat these disease-carrying mosquitoes. Although there are currently insecticides available, mosquitoes are becoming resistant to them, so scientists need to find new ways to reduce their numbers and slow the spread of the diseases they carry. Fortunately, researchers have discovered that the digestive system of certain mosquito larvae, including Ae. aegypti, has a unique and alkaline environment where these new molecules can be effective.The mosquito’s digestive system is unique in that it starts with a high pH in the midgut and then becomes more neutral as digestion continues. Michael Riehle, John Jewett, and their team wanted to create molecular probes that would only become active in the alkaline part of the midgut in response to this pH change.
The researchers made two base-reactive molecules and a control molecule for their test probes. They then fed these to groups of 30 to 40 mosquito larvae, who took them in through filter feeding and passed them through their digestive systems. In the alkaline midgut, the two new base-reactive molecules reacted as expected.The active molecules went through a number of chemical transformations, enabling them to attach to proteins in the gut. Researchers were able to detect them using fluorescence. Larvae that consumed the control molecule did not show any fluorescence. The process of targeting and labeling larval gut proteins with these molecular probes creates potential for the development of new insecticides in the future, as stated by the team. Furthermore, since the majority of organisms have neutral or acidic digestive systems, these alkaline-specific molecular probes would not have an impact on them, thus reducing potential side effects and making future insecticides highly specific to their intended targets. The researchers believe that this study will have significant implications.Experts believe that the specificity and adaptability of insecticides could make them more resistant to change and more effective in combating mosquito-borne diseases. The authors of the article received funding from the National Science Foundation, the 2023 Technology Research Initiative Fund, and the National Institutes of Health.
