Among the most devastating infectious diseases worldwide are insect-borne diseases that are spread by mosquitoes. One such mosquito vector, Aedes aegypti, is of particular concern because it spreads the viruses that cause diseases such as dengue and Zika, which affect millions of people each year. To home in on people for blood meals, female mosquitoes use multisensory integration. They sense the CO2 from our breath, which then causes them to pay attention to other host cues, such as human odors and the images of humans.

We have created mutant mosquitoes that are highly compromised in host detection because are cannot see hosts when stimulated with CO2, but are not blind. 

In addition, to the known cues, we have discovered a new human-derived cue that mosquitoes use to find us: infrared radiation (IR). Our surface body temperature is ~34 °C, which is converted into IR. We discovered that mosquitoes detect the IR emanating from our bodies through neurons at the end of the antenna. The mechanism is that the IR heats up neurons at the end of the antenna and then activate heat sensors (TRPA1 and two opsins, Op1 and Op2), which activate neurons. 

Our current and future studies are directed at providing additional insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms that mosquitoes use to find us.