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Female mosquitoes transmit pathogens through serial blood-feeding, while both male and female mosquitoes feed on plant resources. Contact chemosensation (taste) guides these two feeding modes in both positive ways, feeding readily on sugar in nectar or ATP in blood, and negative ways, demonstrating aversion to chemically diverse bitter compounds in blood or sugar meals. Here, we identify a receptor,\n                  <jats:italic>AaegGr14<\/jats:italic>\n                  , that is expressed in neurons in the labellum and cibarium of the mosquito. Activation of\n                  <jats:italic>Gr14-<\/jats:italic>\n                  expressing neurons causes reduced feeding, while\n                  <jats:italic>Gr14<\/jats:italic>\n                  and\n                  <jats:italic>Gr14<\/jats:italic>\n                  -expressing GRNs are required for aversion to bitter compounds during nectar- but not blood-feeding. This work provides a molecular and cellular on-ramp to understand bitter taste in mosquitoes and establishes that there are feeding context-dependent differences in how taste mechanisms influence blood- and nectar-feeding. Understanding the molecular and cellular basis of bitter taste in mosquitoes during nectar- and blood-feeding will help inform vector control strategies and elucidate shared principles and unique aspects of insect taste systems.\n                <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.64898\/2026.06.28.734668","type":"posted-content","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T16:55:16Z","timestamp":1782924916000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A Molecular and Cellular Mechanism for Bitter Taste in the mosquito\n                  <i>Aedes aegypti<\/i>"],"prefix":"10.64898","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6646-6554","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Leisl I.","family":"Brewster","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Zoology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-9545-9147","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Joshua U.","family":"Abel-Nwachukwu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Zoology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8147-6083","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pei-Hsuan","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Zoology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3207-1260","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Oleksandr","family":"Hulai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Zoology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5351-5647","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nicholas K.","family":"Tochor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Zoology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-9827-9528","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alyxzelle J.","family":"Relao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Zoology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-6599-682X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cassidy S.","family":"Mark","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Zoology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5521-635X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anjali","family":"Pandey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3527-8622","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Trevor R.","family":"Sorrells","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Genetics, Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA"},{"name":"Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New Haven, Connecticut, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8697-699X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Benjamin J.","family":"Matthews","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Zoology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"54368","reference":[{"key":"2026070402001297000_2026.06.28.734668v1.1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1034\/j.1600-0706.2000.910301.x"},{"key":"2026070402001297000_2026.06.28.734668v1.2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2013076117"},{"key":"2026070402001297000_2026.06.28.734668v1.3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-024-08047-y"},{"key":"2026070402001297000_2026.06.28.734668v1.4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1051\/apido:19770405"},{"key":"2026070402001297000_2026.06.28.734668v1.5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pt.2020.02.003"},{"key":"2026070402001297000_2026.06.28.734668v1.6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/1313226"},{"key":"2026070402001297000_2026.06.28.734668v1.7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s00442-004-1603-6"},{"key":"2026070402001297000_2026.06.28.734668v1.8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Clements, A.N. , 1992. 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