The trick to stop mosquito-borne diseases may have been hiding in the hearing of male mosquitoes, all these years. According to a recent study conducted by University of California, Santa Barbara, male mosquitoes rely on their hearing to chase their female mate. When the male mosquitoes are turned deaf or their pathway is altered, they refrain from mating.

According to a press release, female mosquitoes beat their wings at around 500 Hz, and males who detect this fly to them at about 800 Hz. The physiology of mosquitoes indicates the importance of hearing. They have more auditory neurons than any other insect. The researchers eliminated a protein called trpVa that is required for hearing in mosquitoes. Then the mutated mosquitoes were locked inside a cage with females.

Results of the study:

It was observed that after three days, male mosquitoes did not mate with the females. On the other hand, wild males that were locked in a separate cage with female mosquitoes, mated with and fertilised almost every female.

Female mosquitoes are responsible for spreading mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, zika and yellow fever, and when they are not fertilised, the risk of these diseases can be cut down. In an interview with BBC, Dr Joerg Albert, from the University of Oldenburg in Germany, an expert on mosquito mating, said that the study proves how crucial hearing is for mosquitoes to mate. With this study, if male mosquitoes do not chase the female windbeat, mosquitoes might become extinct.

Even though mosquitoes are loathed for carrying deadly diseases, they are also an important part of the food chain, providing food and nourishment for fish, birds, bats and frogs, some of whom are essential pollinators.

“We found that mating was abolished in deaf males, demonstrating that hearing and TRPVa are essential for male mating behavior. This work reveals a mode of communication that is strictly required for male mating success in a mosquito disease vector,” read an excerpt of the study.

Another method of mosquito mating is also being studied where sterile mosquitoes are released in areas having mosquito-borne diseases.

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