AI Article Synopsis

  • * When mosquitoes consumed dietary L-DOPA, it enhanced their immune response, increased pigmentation, and shortened their lifespan due to changes in melanin synthesis.
  • * The study highlights L-DOPA's potential as a natural method for mosquito control in malaria transmission, indicating a need for further research in real-world settings.

Article Abstract

L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA), a naturally occurring tyrosine derivative, is prevalent in environments that include mosquito habitats, potentially serving as part of their diet. Given its role as a precursor for melanin synthesis we investigated the effect of dietary L-DOPA on mosquito physiology and immunity to and infection. Dietary L-DOPA was incorporated into mosquito melanin via a non-canonical pathway and had profound transcriptional effects that were associated with enhanced immunity, increased pigmentation, and reduced lifespan. Increased melanization resulted in an enhanced capacity to absorb electromagnetic radiation that affected mosquito temperatures. Bacteria in the mosquito microbiome were sources of dopamine, which is a substrate for melanization. Our results illustrate how an environmentally abundant amino acid analogue can affect mosquito physiology and suggest its potential usefulness as an environmentally friendly vector control agent to reduce malaria transmission, warranting further research and field studies.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11527263PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5167892/v1DOI Listing

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