Mosquitoes harbor gut bacteria just like people do, and new research suggests the bugs inside the bugs may help scientists learn to hatch malaria-resistant mosquitoes. People, animals, even insects harbor a community of mostly healthy intestinal bacteria, what’s called the gut microbiome. Sure enough, the entire next generation harbored the malaria-suppressing germ, Hopkins malaria researcher Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena reported in the journal Science. Somehow, that subtle genetic change also altered the insects’ usual gut bacteria and made them more attractive to mates. The theory is that tamping down gut bacteria altered the mosquitoes’ scent.

Source: Washington Post September 28, 2017 18:04 UTC