Towards the development of improved insect repellents

Mosquitoes are a rapidly growing threat to public health, transmitting deadly diseases like malaria and dengue fever that infect up to 700 million people annually. Mosquito repellents are small molecules deeply aversive to mosquitoes that deter them from biting humans, but available products are either inefficacious or impractical. Because mosquitoes are rapidly colonizing large urban areas, there is an unmet need to develop next-generation repellents with higher efficacy and improved usability profiles. The development of new mosquito repellents is thwarted by the lack of molecular understanding of the pharmacology and mode of action of insect repellents. The goal of this pilot study is to identify the molecular target of the insect repellent DEET in mosquitoes, to enable the development of next-generation insect repellents.