Nature.com: Mosquitoes inherit DEET resistance


A blast of DEET deters some - but not all - mosquitoes from sucking human blood.
Photo credit: nature.com

The indifference of some mosquitoes to a common insect repellent is due to an easily inherited genetic trait that can be rapidly evolved by later generations, a new study suggests.

By selective breeding, James Logan and colleagues at Rothamsted Research in Harpenden, UK, created strains of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in which half of the females do not respond to DEET (N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide) — a powerful insect repellent. They suggest that this rapidly evolved insensitivity is due to a single dominant gene — one that confers resistance even if the trait is inherited from only one parent.
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Posted by WILDNEWJERSEY at 5/21/2010 10:00 AM
Categories: Invertebrates
Tags: deet genetic trait gene deet resistance Mosquitoes
 

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