Two chemosensory receptors together mediate carbon dioxide detection in Drosophila

Walton D. Jones, Pelin Cayirlioglu, Ilona Grunwald Kadow and Leslie B. Vosshall ()
Additional contact information
Walton D. Jones: The Rockefeller University
Pelin Cayirlioglu: University of California
Ilona Grunwald Kadow: University of California
Leslie B. Vosshall: The Rockefeller University

Nature, 2007, vol. 445, issue 7123, 86-90

Abstract: The scent of man Many insects are equipped with neurons that detect carbon dioxide. The use to which they are put varies according to the insect's ecology: hawk-moths use it as a measure of the quality of datura flowers. Closer to home, mosquitoes and other blood-feeders are attracted to the carbon dioxide emitted by us. Drosophila too has these sensors: two receptors, called Gr21a and Gr63a, have now been identified in the fruit fly. Flies with only one of the two are insensitive to carbon dioxide, but when both genes are expressed the neurons are sensitive to the gas. Similar genes are present in the malaria mosquito, so they may be useful targets for drugs aimed at reducing the ability of mosquitoes to find humans to bite.

Date: 2007
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DOI: 10.1038/nature05466

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