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Published on: December 30, 2014
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Olfactory learning and memory in the disease vector mosquito Aedes aegypti
Clément Vinauger1, Eleanor K Lutz1, Jeffrey A Riffell2
1Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
The Journal of Experimental Biology
|April 17, 2014
Summary
Mosquitoes learn to associate odors with blood, retaining this olfactory learning for over 24 hours. This learning impacts responses to repellents like DEET and involves distinct memory types.
Area of Science:
- Entomology
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Biology
Background:
- Olfactory learning is crucial for blood-feeding insects like mosquitoes, influencing host preference and disease transmission.
- Standardized protocols for testing mosquito olfactory learning are lacking, hindering research into how they process different odor stimuli.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish standardized protocols for testing olfactory learning in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
- To investigate the role of different olfactory stimuli in mosquito learning and memory formation.
- To explore the interaction between olfactory learning and the insect repellent DEET.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a Pavlovian conditioning paradigm to train mosquitoes (individuals and groups) to associate odorants (CS) with a blood-reinforced thermal stimulus (US).
- Tested the retention of learned associations over 24 hours and assessed the impact of various odorants on conditioning success.
- Investigated the effect of DEET on olfactory learning and explored memory characteristics using cold-shock treatments and protein synthesis inhibitors (cycloheximide).
Main Results:
- Aedes aegypti mosquitoes successfully learned to associate L-lactic acid with the unconditioned stimulus and retained this association for at least 24 hours.
- Conditioning success varied with the conditioned stimulus; L-lactic acid and 1-octen-3-ol were readily learned, Z-3-hexen-1-ol shifted from aversive to attractive, while β-myrcene and benzyl alcohol were untrainable.
- Exposure to DEET reduced its aversive effects, and both cold-shock treatments and cycloheximide impacted learned memory performance, indicating distinct memory traces.
Conclusions:
- Olfactory learning is a critical factor in Aedes aegypti's odor responses and host-seeking behavior.
- The study provides the first evidence for the functional role of different memory traces in mosquito olfactory learning.
- These findings have implications for understanding disease transmission dynamics and developing novel mosquito control strategies.
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