3 research outputs found
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Enhancing attraction of the vector mosquito Aedes albopictus by using a novel synthetic odorant blend.
BackgroundThe Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, an increasingly relevant arboviral vector, has spread worldwide. However, currently available tools are limited in terms of effective monitoring of vector populations and accurate determination of the extent of viral transmission, especially before and during outbreaks. Therefore, it is essential to develop novel monitoring and surveillance tools, particularly those that target adult mosquitoes and enhance the trapping efficiency for Ae. albopictus.MethodsA variety of human body odorants associated with different types of mosquito olfactory receptors were selected, and their attractiveness to Ae. albopictus was tested by a four-arm olfactometer. The optimal compatibility and proportion of the odorants, Mix-5, was observed via orthogonal design analyses. The attractiveness of Mix-5 to Ae. albopictus in the laboratory was assessed using Mosq-ovitraps and Electric Mosquito Killers. In the field, the effectiveness of generic BG-Lure, Mix-5 and a control treatment was compared with a baited Biogents Sentinel trap (BGS-trap) using a Latin square design.ResultsIn the olfactometer experiments, the attractiveness of the selected candidate compounds at varying dilutions was poor when the individual compounds were used alone. The optimal combination, Mix-5, was generated based on orthogonal design analyses. In the laboratory, the average numbers of female Ae. albopictus mosquitoes attracted by the synthetic odorant blend Mix-5 were 27.00 and 27.50, compared with 12.00 and 14.83 for the control, when using Mosq-ovitraps and Electric Mosquito Killers, respectively. In the field, the average number of Ae. albopictus female mosquitoes trapped by Mix-5 was 9.67 females/trap, whereas the average numbers for BG-Lure and the control were 7.78 and 4.47, respectively. The lure also played an important role in attracting Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes, and the average numbers of Cx. quinquefasciatus female mosquitoes attracted by Mix-5, BG-Lure and the control were 18.78, 25.11 and 12.22, respectively.ConclusionsA human odor-based bait blend was developed and exhibited enhanced effectiveness at attracting Ae. albopictus This blend can be used to monitor and trap dengue vector mosquitoes in Chinese cities
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Enhancing attraction of the vector mosquito Aedes albopictus by using a novel synthetic odorant blend.
BackgroundThe Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, an increasingly relevant arboviral vector, has spread worldwide. However, currently available tools are limited in terms of effective monitoring of vector populations and accurate determination of the extent of viral transmission, especially before and during outbreaks. Therefore, it is essential to develop novel monitoring and surveillance tools, particularly those that target adult mosquitoes and enhance the trapping efficiency for Ae. albopictus.MethodsA variety of human body odorants associated with different types of mosquito olfactory receptors were selected, and their attractiveness to Ae. albopictus was tested by a four-arm olfactometer. The optimal compatibility and proportion of the odorants, Mix-5, was observed via orthogonal design analyses. The attractiveness of Mix-5 to Ae. albopictus in the laboratory was assessed using Mosq-ovitraps and Electric Mosquito Killers. In the field, the effectiveness of generic BG-Lure, Mix-5 and a control treatment was compared with a baited Biogents Sentinel trap (BGS-trap) using a Latin square design.ResultsIn the olfactometer experiments, the attractiveness of the selected candidate compounds at varying dilutions was poor when the individual compounds were used alone. The optimal combination, Mix-5, was generated based on orthogonal design analyses. In the laboratory, the average numbers of female Ae. albopictus mosquitoes attracted by the synthetic odorant blend Mix-5 were 27.00 and 27.50, compared with 12.00 and 14.83 for the control, when using Mosq-ovitraps and Electric Mosquito Killers, respectively. In the field, the average number of Ae. albopictus female mosquitoes trapped by Mix-5 was 9.67 females/trap, whereas the average numbers for BG-Lure and the control were 7.78 and 4.47, respectively. The lure also played an important role in attracting Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes, and the average numbers of Cx. quinquefasciatus female mosquitoes attracted by Mix-5, BG-Lure and the control were 18.78, 25.11 and 12.22, respectively.ConclusionsA human odor-based bait blend was developed and exhibited enhanced effectiveness at attracting Ae. albopictus This blend can be used to monitor and trap dengue vector mosquitoes in Chinese cities
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A DBHS family member regulates male determination in the filariasis vector Armigeres subalbatus
The initial signals governing sex determination vary widely among insects. Here we show that Armigeres subalbatus M factor (AsuMf), a male-specific duplication of an autosomal gene of the Drosophila behaviour/human splicing (DBHS) gene family, is the potential primary signal for sex determination in the human filariasis vector mosquito, Ar. subalbatus. Our results show that AsuMf satisfies two fundamental requirements of an M factor: male-specific expression and early embryonic expression. Ablations of AsuMf result in a shift from male- to female-specific splicing of doublesex and fruitless, leading to feminization of males both in morphology and general transcription profile. These data support the conclusion that AsuMf is essential for male development in Ar. subalbatus and reveal a male-determining factor that is derived from duplication and subsequent neofunctionalization of a member of the conserved DBHS family