The study suggests the potential use of the skin microbiome as a mosquito repellent.
A study suggests that the skin microbiome could serve as a potential mosquito repellent. Scientists in a laboratory setting have shown that altering the composition of the skin microbiome might offer a way to repel mosquitoes effectively, thus reducing the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases.
Previous knowledge indicated that mosquitoes are attracted to humans by detecting unique scents, including those emanating from chemicals released by oil and sweat glands in the skin. Sweat glands produce various molecules that skin microbes break down into nutrients, releasing small molecules with specific odors that can attract mosquitoes.
Now, researchers have identified chemicals produced by the skin microbiome that can repel mosquitoes, particularly Aedes aegypti, known for spreading diseases like chikungunya, dengue, yellow fever, and Zika. Published on January 18 in Scientific Reports, the findings suggest that modifying the skin microbiome to emit certain scents could be a safer and more sustainable approach compared to synthetic mosquito repellents such as bug sprays.
The study’s lead author, Iliano Vieira Coutinho-Abreu, from the University of California, San Diego, explained that targeting the human skin microbiome, which is the source of attractive cues to mosquitoes, could provide protection against mosquito bites and the transmission of diseases.
The research team cultivated several strains of bacteria commonly found on human skin, such as Staphylococcus and Corynebacterium, and analyzed the volatile chemicals released by these microbes. They found that certain skin volatiles, including 2-methyl butyric acid, 3-methyl butyric acid, and geraniol, repelled mosquitoes. Interestingly, mosquitoes were strongly attracted to lactic acid, a known mosquito attractant, produced by the bacteria.
Based on these findings, the researchers suggest that altering the skin microbiome to produce fewer attractant chemicals or more repellent chemicals could help prevent mosquito bites and reduce the spread of mosquito-borne diseases.
Since the publication of the Scientific Reports paper, the team has conducted additional research supporting this hypothesis. In a new study, they knocked out a gene related to lactic acid synthesis in skin bacteria, which significantly reduced the number of mosquitoes attracted to lab mice coated with these genetically modified bacteria.
The subsequent stages entail assessing the safety and effectiveness of administering these modified bacteria onto mouse skin and exploring whether this method deters additional mosquito species beyond A. aegypti.