Molecular basis of swarming behaviour in disease transmitting mosquitoes

For a tiny mosquito in a wide world, finding a mating partner is a challenge. The same way
humans gather at parties, mosquitoes aggregate in swarms to find a mate. Mating swarms
are fascinating entities formed by hundreds of mosquitoes; they take place in the same
locations every day. Disrupting swarms could have a major impact on controlling disease transmitting mosquitoes. But we hardly know anything about the endogenous molecular
machinery that induce mosquito swarming behaviour. This project will combine genetic,
physiological and pharmaceutical techniques to identify these neurological pathways and
potential strategies to block them.