Meddling in mosquitoes' sex life could cut malaria

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Meddling in mosquitoes' sex life could cut malaria

Interfering in mosquitoes' sex lives could help halt the spread of malaria, British scientists said on Tuesday.


A study on the species of mosquito mainly responsible for malaria transmission in Africa, Anopheles gambiae, showed that because these mosquitoes mate only once in their lives, meddling with that process could dramatically cut their numbers.


Researchers from Imperial College London found that a "mating plug" used by male mosquitoes to ensure their sperm stays in the right place in the female is essential for her to be able to fertilize eggs during her lifetime.


Without the mating plug, sperm is not stored properly and fertilization is disrupted, they wrote in the study in the journal PLoS Biology.


Bron: Reuters


Lees verder: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BL0...t=Google+Reader

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