The malaria metabolite HMBPP does not trigger erythrocyte terpene production

Infection with malarial parasites renders hosts more mosquito attractive than their uninfected, healthy, counterparts. One volatile organic compound, -pinene, is associated with Plasmodium spp. infection in multiple studies and is a known mosquito attractant. However, how malarial infection results in elevated levels of host-associated -pinene remains unclear. One study suggests that erythrocyte exposure to the malarial metabolite, (E)-4-hydroxy-3-methyl-but-2-enyl pyrophosphate (HMBPP), results in increased levels of -pinene. Here, we establish that endogenous levels of -pinene are present in human erythrocytes, that these levels vary widely by erythrocyte donor, and that -pinene levels are not altered by HMBPP treatment.