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cAMP-related second messenger pathways modulate hearing function in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

cAMP-related second messenger pathways modulate hearing function in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes

YiFeng Y.J. Xu, YuMin M. Loh, Tai-Ting Lee, Wan-Tze Chen, WenWei Loh, Takuro S. Ohashi, Daniel F. Eberl, Marta Andrés, Matthew P. Su and Azusa Kamikouchi
iScience, Vol.28(9), 113202
09/19/2025
DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.113202
PMCID: PMC12357097
PMID: 40822900
url
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.113202View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

The powerful ears of male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes facilitate identification and localization of mating partners via detection of female flight tones. Male hearing function is modulated by the efferent release of neurotransmitters, though the secondary mechanisms underlying this modulation remain unclear. Here, we investigated these mechanisms using octopamine as a model, as octopamine modulates hearing function and the erection status of fibrillar hairs lining male ears. We found that pharmacological interference with octopamine receptors alters hearing function at multiple levels and identified the second messenger cAMP as likely mediating these changes. Furthermore, the erection status of male ear fibrillar hairs could be altered by targeting specific sub-types of octopamine receptors, but these changes were not linked to changes in ear frequency tuning. Finally, we suggest that octopamine α2 receptors linked to fibrillar hair erection may not always produce functional proteins across species, with downstream implications for hearing behaviors. [Display omitted] •Octopamine and its receptors are found throughout Aedes aegypti mosquito ears•Pharmacological interference with octopamine receptors modulates hearing function•Modulating levels of the second messenger cAMP also alters hearing function•Ear frequency tuning does not correlate with the erection of hairs lining male ears
Electrophysiology Neurotransmitters Aedes mosquitoes hearing octopamine second messenger

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