蚊子的嗡嗡聲讓人厭煩,，但這卻是它們彼此間辨別身份的標(biāo)志和吸引“另一半”的“情歌”。英國一項(xiàng)最新研究顯示,，非洲的岡比亞按蚊可以靠聲音的差別來區(qū)分不同的種群,。
英國薩塞克斯大學(xué)等機(jī)構(gòu)研究人員在新一期《當(dāng)代生物學(xué)》雜志上報(bào)告說，岡比亞按蚊分為多個(gè)亞種,，這些亞種在外表上幾乎完全一致,，但卻很少雜交，這使得岡比亞按蚊保持了較高的基因多樣性,，因此適應(yīng)性更強(qiáng),，從而成為不易對付的瘧疾傳播載體。
研究人員此前曾發(fā)現(xiàn),，蚊子扇動(dòng)翅膀發(fā)出的嗡嗡聲可成為它們之間的交流手段,。對岡比亞按蚊的最新研究又發(fā)現(xiàn)，不同亞種的蚊子在聲音頻率上有差別,。當(dāng)同一亞種的兩只異性岡比亞按蚊互相接近的時(shí)候,，它們會(huì)調(diào)整各自的聲音頻率，達(dá)到一個(gè)較好的“和聲”,，然后交配,。而不同亞種的蚊子相互間難以完成這場“對歌”，從而避免雜交,。
研究人員說,，這是首次發(fā)現(xiàn)岡比亞按蚊利用聲音頻率選擇配偶的特點(diǎn)，它將有助于通過開發(fā)干擾其交配的手段,，提高防控瘧疾的水平,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
Current Biology, 31 December 2009 doi:10.1016/j.cub.2009.11.040
“Singing on the Wing” as a Mechanism for Species Recognition in the Malarial Mosquito Anopheles gambiae
Cédric Pennetier1, 2, 4, Ben Warren1, 4, K. Roch Dabiré3, Ian J. Russell1, , and Gabriella Gibson1, 2, ,
1 School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK
2 Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich at Medway, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB, UK
3 Institut de Recherche en Science de la Sante/Centre Muraz, BP 390 Bobo-Dioulasso 01, Burkina Faso
Anopheles gambiae, responsible for the majority of malaria deaths annually, is a complex of seven species and several chromosomal/molecular forms. The complexity of malaria epidemiology and control is due in part to An. gambiae's remarkable genetic plasticity, enabling its adaptation to a range of human-influenced habitats. This leads to rapid ecological speciation when reproductive isolation mechanisms develop [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Although reproductive isolation is essential for speciation, little is known about how it occurs in sympatric populations of incipient species [2]. We show that in such a population of “M” and “S” molecular forms, a novel mechanism of sexual recognition (male-female flight-tone matching [7,8,9]) also confers the capability of mate recognition, an essential precursor to assortative mating; frequency matching occurs more consistently in same-form pairs than in mixed-form pairs (p > 0.001). Furthermore, the key to frequency matching is “difference tones” produced in the nonlinear vibrations of the antenna by the combined flight tones of a pair of mosquitoes and detected by the Johnston's organ. By altering their wing-beat frequencies to minimize these difference tones, mosquitoes can match flight-tone harmonic frequencies above their auditory range. This is the first description of close-range mating interactions in incipient An. gambiae species.
