Studies on the responses of the female Aedes mosquito. IX.—The mode of attractiveness of lysine and other amino-acids | Bulletin of Entomological Research | Cambridge Core (original) (raw)

Extract

Of 26 amino-acids tested against a solvent control for their attractiveness to females of Aedes aegypti (L.), lysine was the most attractive and six others (threonine, 1-methylhistidine, arginine, tyrosine, glutamine and alanine) were significantly attractive; nine amino-acids were significantly repellent. Lysine converted to the monopicrate, then to the dihydrochloride and then back to the free base was attractive. The degree of attractiveness of lysine was in direct proportion to the amount of uncombined CO2 it inevitably adsorbs. It is also proportional to the amount of carbamino CO2 combined in the molecule. Some commercial samples of lysine contain repellent principles removable by distillation. It is concluded that the attractiveness of lysine to A. aegypti is due to its ability to act as a vehicle for CO2, both adsorbed and in carbamino combination.

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