2 

 mass spectrometric assays concurrently with samples analyzed for mosquito 



attraction. 



Entomological Overview 



Mosquitoes are a vector for the transmission of more than 250 million new 

 cases of viral diseases each year; these diseases include malaria, encephalitis, and 

 filariasis [1,2]. One method to control the spread of disease is alteration of mosquito 

 capability to carry diseases. The yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, is responsible 

 for the transmission of both yellow fever and dengue fever [3]. This species has 

 shown reduced disease-spreading ability by gene alteration [1]. This approach 

 ultimately requires mapping of the genome for this species and each new species 

 examined. Thus, this method is tedious and may require some time until a useful 

 strategy can be implemented. 



A second approach to control the spread of disease is to develop and employ 

 repellents; this is probably the standard approach to reducing biting from 

 mosquitoes. A third approach, consistent with the work of this dissertation, is to 

 develop an understanding of the basis of attraction. TTiis would allow the 

 development of strategies to reduce or counteract the attraction of human hosts. 

 This knowledge would then allow for manufactured traps, possibly containing both 

 insecticides and attractants. The difficulty with this approach is that it requires a 

 suitable knowledge of attractants for a variety of species. As will be discussed in the 

 following text, many species exhibit marked differences in terms of responses to cues. 



