"Mosquito sex lasts only a few seconds, and usually occurs in mid-air. These factors, combined with the minute size of the genitals, have made it difficult to study exactly what's going on, Vosshall says, adding that the scientists who previously studied mosquito breeding probably just shrugged and said, Yeah, the male is in charge. Her team's findings, which could have implications for controlling disease-carrying mosquitoes, were published today in the journal Current Biology."
"The question was: how are the females able to say no? Vosshall says. Using fluorescent sperm and some careful camera work, the researchers showed for the first time that, when a male Aedes mosquito initiates contact, the female extends the tip of her genitals by a fraction of a millimetre roughly the thickness of a human fingernail. If the female does not give this subtle, but crucial, signal, the male's efforts fail, and copulation does not occur."
Researchers engineered transgenic male Aedes aegypti that produce fluorescent sperm and observed mating interactions with careful camera work. Mating typically lasts only a few seconds and often occurs in mid-air, making observation difficult because of the minute genital size. Females actively signal acceptance by extending the tip of their genitals by a fraction of a millimetre, roughly the thickness of a human fingernail. If females do not provide that subtle but crucial signal, males fail to copulate. The female-controlled acceptance mechanism could have implications for strategies to control disease-carrying mosquito populations.
Read at www.nature.com
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