A new path toward mosquito control
Diseases spread by mosquitoes, including dengue, Zika, and yellow fever, affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide each year, with dengue alone causing an estimated 100 million to 400 million infections annually.
Most insecticides kill mosquitoes by targeting their nervous systems. But over time, mosquitoes can develop resistance to these chemicals, making them less effective and driving the need for new approaches.
This study points to a different strategy — targeting the biological processes that allow mosquitoes to reproduce.
“Right now, most commercial insecticides that target this pathway focus on a single receptor,” Zhu said. “If insects become resistant, those tools lose effectiveness. Identifying additional targets within the same pathway could help address that challenge.”
By showing that one protein carries out two distinct functions, the study identifies new regulatory nodes in the reproductive process that could be targeted to disrupt mosquito reproduction.
“Our goal is not just to control mosquitoes, but to find targets that are specific to mosquitoes and reduce impact on beneficial insects,” Zhu said.
A discovery that may extend beyond mosquitoes
Juvenile hormone is found across many insect species, and early interest from other research groups suggests the same mechanism could be more widespread. If confirmed, that could open new avenues for studying — and potentially managing — other insect species, including agricultural pests.
“It’s exciting to see other labs beginning to test whether this mechanism exists in other insect species,” Zhu said. “That tells us the discovery may have broader significance.”
Zhu’s team members are now working to understand how the MET protein moves to the cell’s surface and what other molecules help control its activity. They are also testing whether blocking the protein’s action on the cell membrane alone could stop mosquitoes from reproducing without affecting other important processes.
The work builds on long-term research in Zhu’s lab focused on understanding how hormonal signaling controls mosquito reproduction. By mapping these pathways, his team aims to identify new molecular targets that could be used to suppress mosquito populations or limit disease transmission.
“Understanding mosquito biology at the molecular level is essential if we want to develop more effective and environmentally responsible control strategies,” Zhu said.
The research was supported by a 10-year $3.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health and through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Hatch program.
Co-authors include Wenhao Zhao, a research associate, and Katara Griffith, Jiangtao Liang, Maria Dorodnitsyna, Pengcheng Liu, and Thomas R. Saunders, all in the Department of Biochemistry at Virginia Tech. Liang was also affiliated with the Department of Entomology.
Original study: DOI 10.1073/pnas.2516796122