Aug 17, 2018 05:19 PM
https://phys.org/news/2018-08-mosquitoes-people.html
EXCERPT: . . . Of course, this doesn't tell us why my companions are generally bitten more than me, it just explains why humans end up as a mosquito's meal and not a bird, cow or lizard. The best evidence for what motivates a mosquito's choice between different people is the variation in our skin microbiota.
This microbiota is mostly non-pathogenic bacteria and fungi which live on our skin and in pores and hair follicles. The odour combination they emit in the form of volatile organic compounds is the critical factor in telling mosquitoes how tasty we'd be.
Our skin microbiota is not readily passed between people through contact. We have an estimated 1m bacteria per square cm of skin, often comprising hundreds of species. This means that mosquitoes choosing between different people might not be selecting based upon "us" but rather the composition of the micro-organisms that live on our skin.
Given the variation and abundance of bacteria in our skin's microbiota, it is perhaps unsurprising that the incredibly sensitive smell and taste apparatus of a host-seeking female mosquito can detect these differences. We only need to consider female behaviour here as only they bite, and only then when they are producing their eggs.
The composition of our skin microbiota mostly depends on our environment – what we eat and where we live. Everything we touch, eat, drink and wash with has the potential to introduce new microbes, but there's evidence that a person's genetics can also influence skin microbiota to a lesser extent.
Genetic variation is thought to affect how hospitable your skin is to the various species of microbes that live on it. This may be through genetically controlled production of proteins in the skin that act as barriers and prevent microbes from establishing and growing on the skin, or through more mundane aspects such as a person's tendency to sweat or how oily their skin is.
It's worth remembering that, as pure sweat has no discernible odour, sweating itself may not be responsible for attracting mosquitoes. Rather, the variation in the chemical composition of sweat, and sweat production rates between people, might result in beneficial conditions for some microbes that can attract mosquitoes.
While we're pretty sure that mosquitoes choose their human hosts according to the bacteria which live on our skin, it's less clear why they prefer the odour signature of some skin's microbial life over others. If we could learn this secret, perhaps we could change our skin's bacterial composition to make ourselves less appetising targets....
MORE: https://phys.org/news/2018-08-mosquitoes-people.html
EXCERPT: . . . Of course, this doesn't tell us why my companions are generally bitten more than me, it just explains why humans end up as a mosquito's meal and not a bird, cow or lizard. The best evidence for what motivates a mosquito's choice between different people is the variation in our skin microbiota.
This microbiota is mostly non-pathogenic bacteria and fungi which live on our skin and in pores and hair follicles. The odour combination they emit in the form of volatile organic compounds is the critical factor in telling mosquitoes how tasty we'd be.
Our skin microbiota is not readily passed between people through contact. We have an estimated 1m bacteria per square cm of skin, often comprising hundreds of species. This means that mosquitoes choosing between different people might not be selecting based upon "us" but rather the composition of the micro-organisms that live on our skin.
Given the variation and abundance of bacteria in our skin's microbiota, it is perhaps unsurprising that the incredibly sensitive smell and taste apparatus of a host-seeking female mosquito can detect these differences. We only need to consider female behaviour here as only they bite, and only then when they are producing their eggs.
The composition of our skin microbiota mostly depends on our environment – what we eat and where we live. Everything we touch, eat, drink and wash with has the potential to introduce new microbes, but there's evidence that a person's genetics can also influence skin microbiota to a lesser extent.
Genetic variation is thought to affect how hospitable your skin is to the various species of microbes that live on it. This may be through genetically controlled production of proteins in the skin that act as barriers and prevent microbes from establishing and growing on the skin, or through more mundane aspects such as a person's tendency to sweat or how oily their skin is.
It's worth remembering that, as pure sweat has no discernible odour, sweating itself may not be responsible for attracting mosquitoes. Rather, the variation in the chemical composition of sweat, and sweat production rates between people, might result in beneficial conditions for some microbes that can attract mosquitoes.
While we're pretty sure that mosquitoes choose their human hosts according to the bacteria which live on our skin, it's less clear why they prefer the odour signature of some skin's microbial life over others. If we could learn this secret, perhaps we could change our skin's bacterial composition to make ourselves less appetising targets....
MORE: https://phys.org/news/2018-08-mosquitoes-people.html