This picture shows the presence of the dengue virus in the mosquitoes' chemosensory (antennae and palp) and feeding organs (proboscis).
CREDIT: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health |
Mosquitoes are
already blood-sucking machines, but new research indicates that the dengue
virus, which the mosquitoes transmit to humans, makes them even thirstier for
blood.
The virus specifically turns on mosquito genes
that make them hungrier for a blood meal; the activated genes also enhance
mosquitoes' sense of smell, something that likely improves their feeding
skills. The result is a mosquito better able to serve the virus by carrying it
more efficiently to human hosts.
"The virus
may, therefore, facilitate the mosquito's host-seeking ability, and could — at
least theoretically — increase transmission efficiency, although we don't fully
understand the relationships between feeding efficiency and virus
transmission," study researcher George Dimopoulus, of the Johns Hopkins
Bloomberg School of Public Health, said in a statement. "In other words, a
hungrier mosquito with a better ability to sense food is more likely to spread
dengue virus."
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The virus
doesn't hurt the mosquitoes that carry it, a specific species called Aedesaegypti,
but it lives in them. When the mosquito bites a human, it spreads the deadly
disease through its saliva. More than 2.5 billion people live in areas where
dengue fever-infected mosquitoes live. The World Health Organization estimates
that between 50 million and 100 million dengue
infections occur each
year.
The researchers
analyzed the mosquito genes before and after being infected with the virus,
finding changes in 147 genes. These post-infection genes make proteins that are
involved in processes that include virus transmission, immunity, blood feeding
and host seeking, they found.
"Our study
shows that the dengue virus infects mosquito organs, the salivary glands and
antennae that are essential for finding and feeding on a human host,"
Dimopoulus said. "This infection induces odorant-binding protein genes,
which enable the mosquito
to sense odors."
Zombified
behavior
"We have,
for the first time, shown that a human pathogen can modulate feeding-related
genes and behavior of its vector mosquito, and the impact of this on
transmission of disease could be significant," Dimopoulos said.
This is just
one of many recent examples of a parasite taking control of an animal for its
own benefit. Other examples include a fungus that turns ants
into zombies and a virus
that causes caterpillars to dissolve and then rain
virus particles down on other potential hosts.
The study was
published today (March 29) in the journal PLoS Pathogens.
You can follow
LiveScience staff writer Jennifer Welsh on Twitter @microbelover.
Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.
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