美国耶鲁大学John R.Carlson小组的一项最新研究认为，蚊子对人类和花朵的味觉反应引导叮咬和进食。这一研究成果于2024年10月16日发表在国际顶尖学术期刊《自然》上。

研究人员表示，味觉系统控制着昆虫的许多行为，但对于蚊子的味觉是如何编码的，以及它们是如何调节关键行为的知之甚少。

该团队研究了白纹伊蚊（一种高度侵入性的疾病媒介）是如何对味觉刺激进行编码的，以及这些线索如何影响叮咬、进食和产卵。小组发现，作为头部主要味觉器官的唇瓣上的神经元，对各种各样的人类和其他线索进行了不同的编码。该研究组确定了具有扩展编码能力的味觉感觉器的三个功能类别。

除了兴奋性反应，课题组人员还确定了普遍的抑制反应，这是咬行为的预测。某些苦味化合物会抑制对糖的生理和行为反应，表明它们的主题是对食欲线索的有效停止信号。复杂的线索，包括人类的汗液、花蜜和产卵地点的水，会引起神经元的不同反应。

该课题组在人体皮肤和汗液中发现了能够协同促进咬人行为的关键味道。转录组分析确定了可能破坏行为的味觉受体。他们的研究揭示了味觉系统的关键特征，提出了操纵化学感觉功能和控制蚊子载体的新方法。

附：英文原文

Title: Mosquito taste responses to human and floral cues guide biting and feeding

Author: Baik, Lisa S., Talross, Galle J. S., Gray, Sydney, Pattisam, Himani S., Peterson, Taylor N., Nidetz, James E., Hol, Felix J. H., Carlson, John R.

Issue&Volume: 2024-10-16

Abstract: The taste system controls many insect behaviours, yet little is known about how tastants are encoded in mosquitoes or how they regulate critical behaviours. Here we examine how taste stimuli are encoded by Aedes albopictus mosquitoes—a highly invasive disease vector—and how these cues influence biting, feeding and egg laying. We find that neurons of the labellum, the major taste organ of the head, differentially encode a wide variety of human and other cues. We identify three functional classes of taste sensilla with an expansive coding capacity. In addition to excitatory responses, we identify prevalent inhibitory responses, which are predictive of biting behaviour. Certain bitter compounds suppress physiological and behavioural responses to sugar, suggesting their use as potent stop signals against appetitive cues. Complex cues, including human sweat, nectar and egg-laying site water, elicit distinct response profiles from the neuronal repertoire. We identify key tastants on human skin and in sweat that synergistically promote biting behaviours. Transcriptomic profiling identifies taste receptors that could be targeted to disrupt behaviours. Our study sheds light on key features of the taste system that suggest new ways of manipulating chemosensory function and controlling mosquito vectors.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08047-y

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08047-y