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Scientists find way to check insect population biologically13 December, 2007 Scientists have found a way to check insect populations by turning off a sex “switch” that is triggered when female insects mate. Researchers at the Institute of Molecular Pathology in Vienna, Austria, said that they have discovered a molecular receptor, or switch, common to all insects, that sets off post-mating behaviors such as laying of eggs. Developing a chemical to block artificially the action of the molecular receptor could stop insect populations from procreating and thus help fight the spread of many human and animal diseases. Many female insects undergo important changes in behavior after mating. Some species start laying multiple eggs. Female mosquitoes, for example, seek out blood, often spreading malaria in the process. Scientists already know that such behavior is triggered by what is called a sex peptide molecule in the male’s seminal fluid, but it has been unclear how it exerts its impact on the female. In the journal Nature, Barry Dickson and colleagues at the Institute of Molecular Pathology in Vienna wrote that they have identified the receptor for the molecule in fruit-flies and shown that it is key to post-mating behavior. Females devoid of the molecular receptor continue to behave as virgins, even after mating. The same receptor has been found in all insects studied so far, which suggests that it may be possible to develop a widely applicable chemical blocker that would be far more effective and environmentally friendly than insecticides. “If you had an inhibitor of this receptor then you could interfere with its function and it would, in effect, be a birth control pill for insects,” writes Barry Dickson. Spraying insecticides to control insect population is not much effective since insects breed very quickly, replacing the dead ones.
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