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Identification of carbon dioxide receptors in insects may help fight infectious disease

12-13-2006 · EurekAlert!

Mosquitoes use the carbon dioxide people exhale as a way to identify a potential food source. But when they bite, they can pass on a number of dangerous infectious diseases, such as malaria and yellow fever. Now, reporting in Nature, Leslie Vosshall's laboratory at Rockefeller University has identified the two molecular receptors in fruit flies that help these insects detect carbon dioxide. The findings could prove to be important against the fight against global infectious disease.

Keywords: identification, carbon, dioxide, receptors, insects, fight, infectious, disease, receptor, insect, infectiou

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