scholarly journals The role of proboscis of the malaria vector mosquito Anopheles stephensi in host-seeking behavior

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emi Maekawa ◽  
Hiroka Aonuma ◽  
Bryce Nelson ◽  
Aya Yoshimura ◽  
Fumio Tokunaga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Malaria Vector ◽  
Anopheles Stephensi ◽  
Host Seeking ◽  
Vector Mosquito ◽  
Seeking Behavior

scholarly journals Host-seeking behavior and hourly biting rhythm of vectors in malaria endemic district of Arba Minch area, Southwest Ethiopia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melkam Abiye Zeru ◽  
Simon Shibru ◽  
Fekadu Massebo
Keyword(s):  
Malaria Vector ◽  
Negative Binomial ◽  
Malaria Vectors ◽  
Malaria Vector Control ◽  
Southwest Ethiopia ◽  
Anopheles Mosquitoes ◽  
Host Seeking ◽  
Human Landing ◽  
Seeking Behavior ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background The early and outdoor biting behaviors of malaria vectors are among the key challenges in malaria control. Hence, understanding the host-seeking behavior and the peak biting time of malaria vectors is important in malaria vector control programs. This study assessed the host-seeking behavior and hourly biting activity of malaria mosquitoes in Chano Mille village in Arba Minch district, southwest Ethiopia. Methods The first trial was done by keeping cattle together with human that collects the entered mosquitoes in tent, while the other was done by keeping cattle outside a 1 m distance from human collector inside a tent. In both trials, mosquito collation was done inside tents baited by cattle and human using human landing catches (HLC) techniques. Four human volunteers’ were recruited and trained to collect mosquitoes in the four tents from 18:00-24:00 for three months. Two tents were selected randomly for human alone and two for cattle baited collections in the first night and then rotated to minimize the variation due to location of tents and collectors skill. The tent trial was done close to the shore of the Lake Abaya to minimize the interference of other animals on mosquito movement. The peak biting hour of malaria vectors was assessed within a Chano village from 18:00-6:00. Mosquito collation was done both indoor and outdoor by HLC. Morphological speciation of Anopheles mosquitoes was done. The sporozoite infectivity status of Anopheles pharoensis was examined using enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay technique. The data was analyzed using a Generalized Estimating Equations with a negative binomial distribution. Results An. pharoensis, An. gambiae complex and An. tenebrosus were the three species documented during the trial. Keeping cattle together with human collector inside the tent attracted 42% ( P < 0.001) more An. pharoensis compared to human alone tent. Also, keeping cattle outside near to a tent with human at 1 m distance, attracted the entering An. pharoensis into the tent inside with human by 46% ( P = 0.002) than human in a tent with no cattle outside the same tent. The impact was not significant for An. gambiae complex and An. tenebrosus. Anopheles pharoensis and An. gambiae complex showed early night biting activity with peak biting from 19.00-20:00 which was significant for both An. gambiae complex ( P < 0.001) and An. pharoensis ( P = 0.015). Anopheles gambiae complex was mainly biting humans outdoor in the village. Conclusions Finally, keeping cattle within and close to human dwellings could increase malaria vectors bite exposure particularly to the zoophilic malaria vector An. pharoensis and, hence deployment of cattle far from human residence could be recommended to reduce the human exposure. The outdoor and early hours biting behavior of the An. gambiae complex could be a threat for success of current indoor based interventions and hence, tools could be designed to reduce this threat.

scholarly journals Mosquito Host Seeking in 3D Using a Versatile Climate-Controlled Wind Tunnel System

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annika Hinze ◽  
Jörgen Lantz ◽  
Sharon R. Hill ◽  
Rickard Ignell
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Wind Tunnel ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Flight Behavior ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Host Seeking ◽  
Seeking Behavior ◽  
Tunnel System

Future anthropogenic climate change is predicted to impact sensory-driven behaviors. Building on recent improvements in computational power and tracking technology, we have developed a versatile climate-controlled wind tunnel system, in which to study the effect of climate parameters, including temperature, precipitation, and elevated greenhouse gas levels, on odor-mediated behaviors in insects. To establish a baseline for future studies, we here analyzed the host-seeking behavior of the major malaria vector mosquito, Anopheles gambiae sensu strico, to human odor and carbon dioxide (CO2), under tightly controlled climatic conditions, and isolated from potential background contamination by the presence of an experimenter. When presented with a combination of human foot odor and CO2 (case study I), mosquitoes engaged in faster crosswind flight, spent more time in the filamentous odor plume and targeted the odor source more successfully. In contrast, female An. gambiae s. s. presented with different concentrations of CO2 alone, did not display host-seeking behavior (case study II). These observations support previous findings on the role of human host-associated cues in host seeking and confirm the role of CO2 as a synergist, but not a host-seeking cue on its own. Future studies are aimed at investigating the effect of climate change on odor-mediated behavior in mosquitoes and other insects. Moreover, the system will be used to investigate detection and processing of olfactory information in various behavioral contexts, by providing a fine-scale analysis of flight behavior.

scholarly journals Experimental population modification of the malaria vector mosquito, Anopheles stephensi

PLoS Genetics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e1008440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thai Binh Pham ◽  
Celine Hien Phong ◽  
Jared B. Bennett ◽  
Kristy Hwang ◽  
Nijole Jasinskiene ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Malaria Vector ◽  
Anopheles Stephensi ◽  
Experimental Population ◽  
Vector Mosquito

Human Blood Type Influences the Host-Seeking Behavior and Fecundity of the Asian Malaria Vector Anopheles Stephensi.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahmshad Ahmed Khan ◽  
Nur Faeza Abu Kassim ◽  
Cameron Ewart Webb ◽  
Muhammad Anjum Aqueel ◽  
Saboor Ahmad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Group ◽  
Malaria Vector ◽  
Human Blood ◽  
Anopheles Stephensi ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Blood Groups ◽  
Blood Type ◽  
Physiological Factors ◽  
Host Seeking ◽  
Group B

Abstract The nutritional requirements of mosquitoes include both sugar (generally derived from the nectar of flowers) and blood (humans or animals). Mosquitoes express different degrees of preferences towards hosts depending on behavioral, ecological, and physiological factors. These preferences have implications for mosquito-borne disease risk. The present study is directed to reveal the effect of the human blood groups on the fecundity and fertility of the malaria vector Anopheles stephensi. In laboratory tests, mosquitoes were fed on ABO blood groups via artificial membrane feeders, and the level of attraction against different blood groups was tested by the electroantennogram and wind tunnel bioassay under control conditions. Overall, the human blood type had a significant impact on the fecundity and fertility of female An. stephensi. The highest numbers of eggs are laid, in the case of blood group B, (mean (±SD)) 203.19 (9.45) followed by the AB, 105.75 (4.51), and O, 98.8 (3.98). In the case of blood group B, females attain the highest fertility of about 89.98 (5.43%). This study provides novel insight into the ABO host choice of the mosquitoes that are still partially unknown and suggests more personal protection, which is a useful tool for the prevention of malaria.

scholarly journals Gene Editing Reveals Obligate and Modulatory Components of the CO2 Receptor Complex in the Malaria Vector Mosquito, Anopheles coluzzii

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Liu ◽  
Zi Ye ◽  
Adam Baker ◽  
Huahua Sun ◽  
Laurence J. Zwiebel
Keyword(s):  
Malaria Vector ◽  
Gene Editing ◽  
Anopheles Coluzzii ◽  
Knock Out ◽  
Molecular Receptors ◽  
Electrophysiological Recordings ◽  
Vector Mosquito ◽  
Volatile Carbon

AbstractThe sensitivity to volatile carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by humans and other animals is a critical component in the host preference behaviors of the malaria vector mosquito Anopheles coluzzii. The molecular receptors responsible for the ability to sense CO2 are encoded by three putative gustatory receptor (Gr) genes (Gr22,23,24) which are expressed in a distinctive array of sensory neurons housed in maxillary palp capitate peg sensilla of An. coluzzii. Despite the identification of these components and subsequent studies, there is a paucity of understanding regarding the respective roles of these three GRs in the mosquito’s CO2 transduction process. To address this, we have used CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing techniques combined with in vivo electrophysiological recordings to directly examine the role of Gr22,23,24 in detecting CO2 in An. coluzzii. These studies reveal that both Gr23 and Gr24 are absolutely required to maintain in vivo CO2 sensitivity while, in contrast, Gr22 knock out mutants are still able to respond to CO2 stimuli albeit with significantly weaker sensitivity. Our data supports a model in which Gr22 plays a modulatory role to enhance the functionality of Gr23/24 complexes that are responsible for CO2 sensitivity of mosquitoes.

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