# Cytochrome P450 G subfamily member as a putativeodor

> **NIH NIH P20** · UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENO · 2020 · $216,319

## Abstract

Female mosquitoes are vectors for some of the most debilitating infectious diseases of humans. 
Current chemical management strategies use insecticides that target the neuro-endocrine system almost 
exclusively. With insecticide resistance on the rise, there is a serious resurgence of mosquito-borne diseases, 
and therefore an urgent need to develop new targets for new strategies. 
Female of most mosquito species require vertebrate blood to provide nutrients for egg production and 
therefore need to locate an appropriate host mainly through their sense of smell. Consequently, mosquitoes 
have evolved an acute olfactory information processing system that detects and processes odor information to 
enable localizing the odor source, and finally rapidly inactivates the odor signal so as to maintain high odor 
sensitivity. Studies in the last several decades have greatly improved our understanding of how odors are 
detected and processed by the olfactory circuit, the neuroscience underlying odor-signal inactivation is poorly 
understood. 
Recent studies have suggested that antennal cytochrome P450s (CYPs) play an important role in odor 
molecule breakdown. In honeybees, a member of insect-specific CYP subfamily, CYP4G11, has been shown 
to degrade short-chain alcohols and aldehydes (common volatile odor molecules in plants and animal odor). 
The yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, has two functional CYP4G orthologs, CYP4G35 and CYP4G36. 
Our preliminary data show that CYP4G35 mRNA levels are highest in the head and peripheral olfactory tissues 
(antennae, maxillary palps, proboscis, and head). CYP4G35 knockdown by RNAi results in vertebrate host 
avoidance by the adults. Based on the evidence in the literature and our preliminary data, we hypothesize 
that the CYP4G35 is an odor degrading enzyme, important for odor clearance. We will test this 
hypothesis through two specific aims: Aim 1) assessing the effects of CYP4G35 knockout on host and mate 
finding (olfaction and mating), and Aim 2) Functional determination of CYP4G35 as an odor degrading enzyme 
by determining enzyme substrates and localization in the antennae. We will employ techniques in molecular 
biology, biochemistry, and neuroscience/behavior to achieve these aims. 
This work will impact the field by providing 1) a novel target for mosquito control, and 2) an enhanced 
understanding of the olfactory information processing in mosquitoes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10187693
- **Project number:** 5P20GM103650-09
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENO
- **Principal Investigator:** Monika Gulia-Nuss
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $216,319
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10187693

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10187693, Cytochrome P450 G subfamily member as a putativeodor (5P20GM103650-09). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10187693. Licensed CC0.

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