Interfere with the sex life of mosquitoes help stop the spread of malaria, according to a British study released on Thursday (24).

A study about the mosquito from the species Anopheles gambiae – essentially vector of malaria transmission in Africa – has shown that due to the fact that these mosquitoes mate only once in their life cycle, control this process can dramatically reduce the number of population insect.

Researchers at Imperial College London found that “genital cap” worn by male mosquitoes to ensure that “his” sperm be in place in the female, is essential for it to fertilize their eggs during their lifetime.

The team analyzed the composition of the buffer genital, and found that it is formed when an enzyme called transglutaminase interacts with proteins in the semen of the male mosquito.

The interaction causes the fluid to clot, and then become a solid, a gelatinous mass, known as genital cap.

When researchers extracted the enzyme from the male mosquitoes in the laboratory, the cap is not formed – hence the play was flawed during copulation.

If this process can be developed for use – perhaps in the form of a spray insecticide – can also “effectively induce sterility in the female mosquito,” according to the researchers.

Via: Folha.