Organization of olfactory centres in the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae

Olena Riabinina, Darya Task, Elizabeth Marr, Chun-Chieh Lin, Robert Alford, David A. O'Brochta and Christopher J. Potter ()
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Olena Riabinina: Center for Sensory Biology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Darya Task: Center for Sensory Biology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Elizabeth Marr: Center for Sensory Biology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Chun-Chieh Lin: Center for Sensory Biology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Robert Alford: University of Maryland College Park
David A. O'Brochta: University of Maryland College Park
Christopher J. Potter: Center for Sensory Biology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Mosquitoes are vectors for multiple infectious human diseases and use a variety of sensory cues (olfactory, temperature, humidity and visual) to locate a human host. A comprehensive understanding of the circuitry underlying sensory signalling in the mosquito brain is lacking. Here we used the Q-system of binary gene expression to develop transgenic lines of Anopheles gambiae in which olfactory receptor neurons expressing the odorant receptor co-receptor (Orco) gene are labelled with GFP. These neurons project from the antennae and maxillary palps to the antennal lobe (AL) and from the labella on the proboscis to the suboesophageal zone (SEZ), suggesting integration of olfactory and gustatory signals occurs in this brain region. We present detailed anatomical maps of olfactory innervations in the AL and the SEZ, identifying glomeruli that may respond to human body odours or carbon dioxide. Our results pave the way for anatomical and functional neurogenetic studies of sensory processing in mosquitoes.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13010

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