Engineered Fungi That Attract and Kill Mosquitoes: Scientists Develop Longifolene-Producing Metarhizium for Powerful Biocontrol

Engineered Fungi Emit Longifolene to Attract and Kill Mosquitoes

A groundbreaking study published in Nature Microbiology has revealed a novel biological strategy to control mosquitoes—by engineering fungi that attract mosquitoes using their own scent, then infect and kill them.

Researchers discovered that insect cadavers colonized by Metarhizium fungi naturally emit longifolene, a volatile compound that lures insects. By isolating this mechanism, scientists successfully engineered a Metarhizium pingshaense strain capable of producing longifolene in large quantities, transforming fungal spores into both an attractant and a lethal agent.

How the Engineered Fungi Work

According to the paper, Metarhizium-infected insect bodies release three major volatiles:

Longifolene
Sativene
Geosmin

Among these, longifolene was the major attractant. The team identified the specific odorant receptors used by Drosophila melanogaster and Aedes albopictus to detect this compound. This discovery enabled the engineering of a fungal strain capable of releasing longifolene directly from inexpensive media.

The Engineered Strain: Mp-Tps

The transgenic Metarhizium pingshaense strain (Mp-Tps):

Produced over 200× more longifolene than the wild type.
Attracted male and female mosquitoes of A. albopictus, Anopheles sinensis, and Culex pipiens.
Killed mosquitoes faster and with higher infection rates than conventional fungal spores.

Even under challenging conditions—presence of humans or flowering plants—Mp-Tps maintained high mortality (>90%), showing robust real-world potential.

Why This Matters

Mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, dengue, and chikungunya affect billions globally. With widespread insecticide resistance emerging, new strategies are urgently needed.

This study provides the first demonstration of fungal bio-attractants that not only lure mosquitoes but also ensure high infection efficiency—even from a distance. It opens avenues for low-cost, scalable, environmentally safe mosquito control.

Reference

Tang, D., Chen, J., Zhang, Y., Tang, X., Wang, X., Yu, C., Cheng, X., Zhang, J., Shi, W., Zhen, Q., Liu, S., Huang, Y., Ning, J., Zhu, G., Zhang, M., Hu, J., Bilgo, E., Diabate, A., Ying, S.-H., … Fang, W. (2025). Engineered Metarhizium fungi produce longifolene to attract and kill mosquitoes. Nature Microbiology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-025-02155-9