Why do we know so much
about this olfactory signal transduction pathway? Because
female mosquitoes that are carriers of diseases like
malaria and sleeping sickness use this same pathway
- it has been the subject of a great deal of research.
Compared to their female counterparts,
male mosquitoes are benign vegetarian monks who feed
on plant juices. In fact, the male mosquito does not
respond to lactic acid from human sweat. From your knowledge
of signal transduction, why do you think males cannot
respond to lactic acid?
In the third and final topic, you will
see how malfunctioning of a signal transduction pathway
can lead to disease.
Click on the forward arrow to move to
topic three.
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