Progress 10/01/23 to 09/30/24
Outputs
PROGRESS REPORT Objectives (from AD-416): Objective 1: Enable the commercial production of microorganisms and their bioactive metabolites to control mosquitoes and the viruses they carry. Goal 1.1: Evaluate larval-specific fungal/bacterial entomopathogens for mosquito control. Goal 1.2: Characterize and select microbial isolates with potential for bioactive factor production. Objective 2: Enable the commercial production of bioactive compounds from plants to control mosquitoes. Goal 2.1: Identify essential oils with adulticidal activity against mosquitoes and their potential application as ingredients of attractive toxic sugar bait. Goal 2.2: Develop essential oil emulsions that are effective against mosquito larvae. Approach (from AD-416): Mosquito control is a fundamental component of mosquito-borne disease prevention and outbreak control. The conventional approach to mosquito control relies heavily on synthetic chemical insecticides, but there is an urgent need for alternative vector control tools to tackle the rising problem of insecticide resistance and limit pesticide-related environmental hazards. Biopesticides are pest management agents based on living organisms or natural products and have a proven potential as ecofriendly alternatives to synthetic chemical insecticides. To date, only a limited number of biopesticides have been commercialized for use in mosquito control. Thus, the discovery of new biopesticide agents is one of the key priorities of vector biology research. This project will apply technologies allied with the fields of medical entomology, molecular biology, microbiology, chemical ecology and natural products chemistry to discover new microbial- and plant-based biopesticide agents to be developed and commercialized for mosquito control. Plant-based compounds that are highly effective against mosquitoes will be identified and developed into water-soluble and environmentally stable formulations for effective delivery to the target mosquitoes. The potential to harness bioactive compounds from plants as active ingredients for attractive toxic sugar-baits for mosquito control will also be explored. The project will focus primarily on plant essential oils because of their proven potential for pest and vector management. Additionally, we will explore and identify new entomopathogenic fungi and bacteria that kill different life stages of the mosquito. The bioactive compounds contributing to entomopathogenic activity of these fungi/bacteria will be isolated, characterized and examined for mosquitocidal and anti-arboviral activity. Successful completion of this project will lead to new discoveries that have great potential to propel the development and eventual commercialization of novel plant- and microbial-based agents for mosquito control. For Objective 1, ARS researchers in Peoria, Illinois, made significant progress in evaluating 17 species of insect- killing fungi for larvicidal activity against the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti. These fungal strains, spanning five genera, exhibited varying levels of spore production and pathogenicity against mosquito larvae and pupae. Two forms of fungal inocula were evaluated (blastospore and conidia), providing insights into optimal fungal stages to use during formulations for enhanced efficacy and shelf life. These would serve as leads for microbial biopesticide formulations to suppress mosquito larvae. In a separate project to evaluate the potential impact of climate change on mosquito control, ARS researchers in Peoria, Illinois, collaborated with Bradley University to evaluate the effect of elevated carbon dioxide, a key contributor of climate change, on susceptibility of mosquito larvae to microbial biopesticides. Larvae of the yellow fever mosquito were maintained under normal or elevated carbon dioxide levels and challenged with fungi known to kill mosquitoes. Our results indicated that elevated carbon dioxide has complex effects on susceptibility of mosquito larvae to microbial biopesticides, with one microbial biopesticide losing its effect under elevated carbon dioxide levels. Our findings provide valuable insights into how climate change may affect mosquito physiology and host-pathogen interactions, with implications for their potential control under likely future elevated carbon dioxide conditions. In a collaboration with Brazilian scientists, five entomopathogenic fungi were evaluated for activity against the dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus), an important vector of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in humans. Two entomopathogenic fungi were found to have acaricidal properties and studies are currently being conducted to elucidate how ticks defend themselves against infection by entomopathogenic fungi. Substantial progress was also made in testing crude secondary metabolite extracts from five fungi for toxicity against mosquito larvae and ability to inhibit microbial growth. Crude extracts of entomopathogenic fungi Beauveria brongniartii were toxic to mosquito larvae and had antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium smegmatis (Mc2155). Additional research is currently being conducted to determine the bioactive molecules responsible for killing the mosquito larvae and inhibiting microbial growth. For Objective 2, The bioactivity of brassica seed meals was tested for toxicity against three medically important ticks. This study indicated that Garden cress and Pennycress seed meals have synergistic activity against the black-legged tick, the American dog tick, and the lone star tick. These results have been submitted for an invention disclosure (⿿DEFATTED GLUCOSINOLATE CONTAINING SEED MEALS AS EFFECTIVE ACARICIDES TO CONTROL TICKS (Docket No: 0099.23)). ACCOMPLISHMENTS 01 Identification of beneficial fungi that are lethal to mosquito larvae and pupae. Synthetic insecticides are harmful to the environment and mosquitoes have developed resistance to nearly all classes of synthetic insecticides approved for public health use. Therefore, there is an urgent need for alternative approaches for mosquito control. Insect- killing fungi and bacteria are promising alternatives to chemical insecticides due to their high specificity to the target organisms and low toxicity to humans and the environment. ARS researchers in Peoria, Illinois, tested 17 strains of insect-killing fungi from five fungal genera and identified six fungal strains that were highly effective at killing larvae of the yellow fever mosquito. Some of these fungal strains were also effective at killing the pupal stage, effectively preventing emergence of adult mosquitoes. This study expands our list of insect-killing fungi for further study and application on mosquito control. The application of these mosquito-killing fungi could be applied in both urban and rural areas, reducing our reliance on synthetic insecticides and preventing the outbreak of mosquito-borne diseases. These findings are invaluable to public health and vector control agencies seeking sustainable alternatives to chemical insecticides. 02 Use of mustard seed meals to control ticks. Ticks are one of the most important vectors of animal and human pathogens. Unfortunately, they are becoming resistant to pesticides, which makes it harder to control them using the traditional methods. Plant-derived biopesticides are promising options to manage ticks. These biopesticides often contain several active compounds that work in different ways, thus preventing ticks to develop resistance. ARS researchers in Peoria, Illinois, evaluated the activity of mustard plant seed meals against three important tick species (the lone star tick, American dog tick, and black- legged ticks). Of the four mustard seed meals that were evaluated, three were found to be toxic to ticks. A combination of garden cress and Pennycress seed meals was particularly effective at killing the three tick species compared to either seed meal alone. These findings suggest that combining seed meals from different mustard plants could be harnessed as a natural and effective way for controlling ticks, while at the same time preventing the development of resistance in tick populations. These plant-based biopesticides provides public health agencies and farmers a sustainable alternative to synthetic acaricides to control ticks, reducing the incidence of human and animal tick-borne diseases.
Impacts
(N/A)
Publications
- Yan, J., Kim, C., Chesser, L., Ramirez, J.L., Stone, C.M. 2023. Nutritional stress compromises mosquito fitness and antiviral immunity, while enhancing dengue virus infection susceptibility. Communications Biology. 6. Article 1123. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-05516-4.
- Njoroge, T.M., Berenbaum, M.R., Stone, C.A., Kim, C., Dunlap, C.A., Muturi, E.J. 2024. Culex pipiens and Culex restuans larval interactions shape the bacterial communities in container aquatic habitats. FEMS Microbes. https:/ /doi.org/10.1093/femsmc/xtae002.
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Progress 10/01/22 to 09/30/23
Outputs
PROGRESS REPORT Objectives (from AD-416): Objective 1: Enable the commercial production of microorganisms and their bioactive metabolites to control mosquitoes and the viruses they carry. Goal 1.1: Evaluate larval-specific fungal/bacterial entomopathogens for mosquito control. Goal 1.2: Characterize and select microbial isolates with potential for bioactive factor production. Objective 2: Enable the commercial production of bioactive compounds from plants to control mosquitoes. Goal 2.1: Identify essential oils with adulticidal activity against mosquitoes and their potential application as ingredients of attractive toxic sugar bait. Goal 2.2: Develop essential oil emulsions that are effective against mosquito larvae. Approach (from AD-416): Mosquito control is a fundamental component of mosquito-borne disease prevention and outbreak control. The conventional approach to mosquito control relies heavily on synthetic chemical insecticides, but there is an urgent need for alternative vector control tools to tackle the rising problem of insecticide resistance and limit pesticide-related environmental hazards. Biopesticides are pest management agents based on living organisms or natural products and have a proven potential as ecofriendly alternatives to synthetic chemical insecticides. To date, only a limited number of biopesticides have been commercialized for use in mosquito control. Thus, the discovery of new biopesticide agents is one of the key priorities of vector biology research. This project will apply technologies allied with the fields of medical entomology, molecular biology, microbiology, chemical ecology and natural products chemistry to discover new microbial- and plant-based biopesticide agents to be developed and commercialized for mosquito control. Plant-based compounds that are highly effective against mosquitoes will be identified and developed into water-soluble and environmentally stable formulations for effective delivery to the target mosquitoes. The potential to harness bioactive compounds from plants as active ingredients for attractive toxic sugar-baits for mosquito control will also be explored. The project will focus primarily on plant essential oils because of their proven potential for pest and vector management. Additionally, we will explore and identify new entomopathogenic fungi and bacteria that kill different life stages of the mosquito. The bioactive compounds contributing to entomopathogenic activity of these fungi/bacteria will be isolated, characterized and examined for mosquitocidal and anti-arboviral activity. Successful completion of this project will lead to new discoveries that have great potential to propel the development and eventual commercialization of novel plant- and microbial-based agents for mosquito control. We made significant progress in Objective 1, evaluating five bacterial strains for larvicidal activity against the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti. These bacteria were selected from the ARS Culture Collection (NRRL) because of their potential to be pathogenic to insects (i.e., isolated from an insect host). These bacterial strains encompassed five bacterial genera and represented a range of toxicity against mosquito larvae. Some of these bacteria also produce molecules with anti-bacterial properties. Our studies are allowing us to identify bacterial strains with potential to be lethal to mosquito larvae and to serve as leads for bioprospecting studies on new antimicrobial compounds. These studies also tested different entomopathogenic fungi for their ability to stimulate the production of mosquito antimicrobial peptides in the yellow fever mosquito, thus allowing us to further dissect the mechanism of mosquito resistance to fungal biocontrol agents. In a separate project, a Chromobacterium crude dry formulation was tested against two species of ticks (Ixodes scapularis and Amblyoma americanum) with preliminary results indicating significant mortality of I. scapularis following exposure. Substantial progress was also made in testing culture conditions to stimulate production of secondary metabolites by three species of entomopathogenic fungi. Crude secondary metabolite testing suggests that organic additives (i.e., chitin) influence production of secondary metabolites with potent larvicidal activity. Additionally, preliminary assays indicate that select fractions of crude secondary metabolites have anti-mycobacterial properties. Further experiments are currently ongoing to identify the chemical properties of this potential antimicrobial compound. For Objective 2, the bioactivity of brassica seed meal and their major chemical constituents were tested for toxicity against mosquito larvae. This study indicated that different brassica seed meals have varying degrees of toxicity and can readily be developed into plant-based bioinsecticides against mosquitoes. Additional assays evaluated the toxicity of crude pennycress oil against mosquito larvae. ACCOMPLISHMENTS 01 Identification of mosquito-derived antimicrobial proteins responsible for resistance to fungal-based biocontrol agents. Microbial biopesticides represent ecofriendly and sustainable mosquito control strategies. Their efficacy depends on the virulence of the microbial agent and on mosquito-derived factors that protect it from microbial infections. In this regard, mosquito resistance to microbes (including fungi used for mosquito control) depend on a range of antimicrobial proteins. ARS researchers in Peoria, Illinois, identified several of these antimicrobial proteins that the mosquito uses to resist fungal infection and tested the antimicrobial proteins in-vivo activity in the yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti) when exposed to diverse fungal entomopathogens. The results showed that removal of a single antimicrobial protein in the mosquito did not affect its ability to fight fungal infections. However, removal of four antimicrobial proteins significantly affected the mosquito survival to fungal infections. This study indicated that these proteins are acting in unison, rather than individually, to arrest the proliferation of the fungal agents used to kill the mosquito. This study provides a new understanding of the mechanisms that confer resistance to insect- killing fungi in an important mosquito vector. Furthermore, this new information allows us to improve fungal-based mosquito control strategies by selecting fungal strains that are better at overcoming the action of these mosquito proteins. 02 Determined mustard seed meals are effective mosquito control biopesticides. Plant-derived biopesticides are attractive alternatives to synthetic pesticides because they are biodegradable and categorized as low-risk pesticide to non-target organisms such as mammals, fish and amphibians. Recently, plants from the mustard family Brassicaceae have been found to be sources of bioactive compounds with potential insecticidal activity. ARS researchers in Peoria, Illinois, evaluated the larvicidal activity of four defatted Brassica seed meals and their individual chemical constituents against the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti. This study indicated that Brassica seed meals were more toxic to mosquito larvae than individual chemical compounds derived from Brassicaceae seeds. Specifically, garden cress (Lepidium sativum) seed meal was the most lethal to mosquito larvae after a 24h exposure period. This is the first study documenting the insecticidal activity of brassica seed meal, a byproduct of oil seed extraction, against mosquito larvae. This study shows that brassica seed meal may signify a potential new ecofriendly larvicide for mosquito control.
Impacts
(N/A)
Publications
- Flor-Weiler, L., Behle, R.W., Berhow, M.A., McCormick, S.P., Vaughn, S.F., Muturi, E.J., Hay, W.T. 2023. Bioactivity of brassica seed meals and its compounds as ecofriendly larvicides against mosquitoes. Scientific Reports. 13. Article 3936. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-30563-6.
- Ramirez, J.L., Hampton, K.J., Rosales, A.M., Muturi, E.J. 2023. Multiple mosquito AMPs are needed to potentiate their antifungal effect against entomopathogenic fungi. Frontiers in Microbiology. 13. Article 1062383. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.1062383.
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Progress 10/01/21 to 09/30/22
Outputs
PROGRESS REPORT Objectives (from AD-416): Objective 1: Enable the commercial production of microorganisms and their bioactive metabolites to control mosquitoes and the viruses they carry. Goal 1.1: Evaluate larval-specific fungal/bacterial entomopathogens for mosquito control. Goal 1.2: Characterize and select microbial isolates with potential for bioactive factor production. Objective 2: Enable the commercial production of bioactive compounds from plants to control mosquitoes. Goal 2.1: Identify essential oils with adulticidal activity against mosquitoes and their potential application as ingredients of attractive toxic sugar bait. Goal 2.2: Develop essential oil emulsions that are effective against mosquito larvae. Approach (from AD-416): Mosquito control is a fundamental component of mosquito-borne disease prevention and outbreak control. The conventional approach to mosquito control relies heavily on synthetic chemical insecticides, but there is an urgent need for alternative vector control tools to tackle the rising problem of insecticide resistance and limit pesticide-related environmental hazards. Biopesticides are pest management agents based on living organisms or natural products and have a proven potential as ecofriendly alternatives to synthetic chemical insecticides. To date, only a limited number of biopesticides have been commercialized for use in mosquito control. Thus, the discovery of new biopesticide agents is one of the key priorities of vector biology research. This project will apply technologies allied with the fields of medical entomology, molecular biology, microbiology, chemical ecology and natural products chemistry to discover new microbial- and plant-based biopesticide agents to be developed and commercialized for mosquito control. Plant-based compounds that are highly effective against mosquitoes will be identified and developed into water-soluble and environmentally stable formulations for effective delivery to the target mosquitoes. The potential to harness bioactive compounds from plants as active ingredients for attractive toxic sugar-baits for mosquito control will also be explored. The project will focus primarily on plant essential oils because of their proven potential for pest and vector management. Additionally, we will explore and identify new entomopathogenic fungi and bacteria that kill different life stages of the mosquito. The bioactive compounds contributing to entomopathogenic activity of these fungi/bacteria will be isolated, characterized and examined for mosquitocidal and anti-arboviral activity. Successful completion of this project will lead to new discoveries that have great potential to propel the development and eventual commercialization of novel plant- and microbial-based agents for mosquito control. We made significant progress in Objective 1, evaluating diverse insect killing fungi for their potential to kill mosquito larvae. These studies are allowing us to identify fungal microbial agents that we can use in the aquatic environment and the appropriate concentration of fungal spores to attain maximal kill of mosquito larvae. Additionally, we tested two different species of insect pathogenic fungi against two important mosquito vectors in the United States: the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) and the house mosquito (Culex pipiens). These studies also evaluated whether another microbe, the symbiont Wolbachia (which these two mosquitoes naturally carry), could interfere with the killing activity of insect pathogenic fungi. Wolbachia is currently being used as a strategy for mosquito control and have potential implications for interactions with other biological control approaches. For Objective 2, substantial progress was made testing different essential oils for toxicity against Aedes aegypti larvae. These compounds were tested in combination with the pesticide piperonyl butoxide for enhanced larval toxicity. Additionally, different essential oils from cedar wood oil, cilantro, parsley and pimento seed were tested for toxicity against adult mosquitoes. In a separate experiment, we tested the toxicity of cedarwood oil against hard tick species. The laboratory tests were conducted with immature stages of four hard-bodied tick species and using several doses of cedarwood oil, using DEET (N, N- diethyl-meta-toluamide) as a control group. This study found different degrees of repellency and toxicity to cedarwood oil across the different tick species. Our results indicate that cedarwood oil can be developed into an environmentally friendly repellent against ticks. ACCOMPLISHMENTS 01 Identified mosquito species that are resistant to insect killing fungi. Not all mosquitoes are equally susceptible to microbial-based biopesticides, and some carry the endosymbiont Wolbachia, a bacterium that can provide the mosquito protection against infection by viruses and bacteria. ARS researchers in Peoria, Illinois, in collaboration with scientists at Illinois State University tested the susceptibility to insect killing fungi of two field mosquitoes, the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) and the house mosquito (Culex pipiens). This study indicated that while Wolbachia does not interfere with the killing activity of insect fungal pathogens, it does impact mosquito overall health, with potential consequences to mosquito reproduction. Furthermore, this study showed that while both mosquito species are killed by insect fungal pathogens, Culex pipiens mosquitoes are highly resistant to the action of one common insect fungal pathogen. This study provides new susceptibility records of two important mosquito vectors in the United States that will guide vector control agencies when selecting the most appropriate biological control agent against these mosquitoes. 02 Determined cedarwood oil is an environmentally friendly biopesticide that kills and repel ticks. Ticks are one of the most important vectors of animal and human pathogens. Their control relies heavily on pesticides but the rapid evolution of pesticide-resistance in ticks underscores the need for new eco-friendly biopesticides. ARS researchers in Peoria, Illinois, tested the toxicity and repellency of cedarwood oil against four different tick species and observed a range of susceptibilities with the most significant toxicity being against the black-legged tick. Exposure to cedarwood oil repelled 80-94% of black-legged ticks, the same rate compared to the traditional DEET- based (N, N-diethyl-meta-toluamide) repellent currently on the market. This study indicates that cedarwood oil is a great candidate for further development of an environmentally friendly acaricide and repellent.
Impacts
(N/A)
Publications
- Flor-Weiler, L.B., Behle, R.W., Eller, F.J., Muturi, E.J., Rooney, A.P. 2022. Repellency and toxicity of a CO2-derived cedarwood oil on hard tick species (Ixodidae). Experimental and Applied Acarology. 86:299-312. https:/ /doi.org/10.1007/s10493-022-00692-0.
- Ramirez, J.L., Schumacher, M., Ower, G., Palmquist, D.E., Juliano, S.A. 2021. Impacts of fungal entomopathogens on survival and immune responses of Aedes albopictus and Culex pipiens mosquitoes in the context of native Wolbachia infections. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 15(11). Article e0009984. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0009984.
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Progress 10/01/20 to 09/30/21
Outputs
Progress Report Objectives (from AD-416): Objective 1: Enable the commercial production of microorganisms and their bioactive metabolites to control mosquitoes and the viruses they carry. Goal 1.1: Evaluate larval-specific fungal/bacterial entomopathogens for mosquito control. Goal 1.2: Characterize and select microbial isolates with potential for bioactive factor production. Objective 2: Enable the commercial production of bioactive compounds from plants to control mosquitoes. Goal 2.1: Identify essential oils with adulticidal activity against mosquitoes and their potential application as ingredients of attractive toxic sugar bait. Goal 2.2: Develop essential oil emulsions that are effective against mosquito larvae. Approach (from AD-416): Mosquito control is a fundamental component of mosquito-borne disease prevention and outbreak control. The conventional approach to mosquito control relies heavily on synthetic chemical insecticides, but there is an urgent need for alternative vector control tools to tackle the rising problem of insecticide resistance and limit pesticide-related environmental hazards. Biopesticides are pest management agents based on living organisms or natural products and have a proven potential as ecofriendly alternatives to synthetic chemical insecticides. To date, only a limited number of biopesticides have been commercialized for use in mosquito control. Thus, the discovery of new biopesticide agents is one of the key priorities of vector biology research. This project will apply technologies allied with the fields of medical entomology, molecular biology, microbiology, chemical ecology and natural products chemistry to discover new microbial- and plant-based biopesticide agents to be developed and commercialized for mosquito control. Plant-based compounds that are highly effective against mosquitoes will be identified and developed into water-soluble and environmentally stable formulations for effective delivery to the target mosquitoes. The potential to harness bioactive compounds from plants as active ingredients for attractive toxic sugar-baits for mosquito control will also be explored. The project will focus primarily on plant essential oils because of their proven potential for pest and vector management. Additionally, we will explore and identify new entomopathogenic fungi and bacteria that kill different life stages of the mosquito. The bioactive compounds contributing to entomopathogenic activity of these fungi/bacteria will be isolated, characterized and examined for mosquitocidal and anti-arboviral activity. Successful completion of this project will lead to new discoveries that have great potential to propel the development and eventual commercialization of novel plant- and microbial-based agents for mosquito control. We made significant progress in Objective 1 by developing and optimizing the media components and incubation time that supports production of fungal spores from different fungal entomopathogens. Preliminary tests were conducted to confirm maintenance of fungal pathogenicity in mosquitoes. In efforts to discover new bacterial pathogens that are lethal to mosquitoes, bacteria isolated from diseased crickets were tested against mosquito larvae. Additional experiments are currently ongoing to define the toxicity of these bacterial isolates to mosquitoes. In collaborative efforts with the University of California Merced, we described for the first time the presence of the symbiont Wolbachia, in five mosquito species from California. This bacterium is currently being used as a strategy for mosquito control. International collaborations with the Gorgas Institute in Panama, focused on the interaction of mosquitoes and their associated microbes, which led to the first records in Panama of natural malaria infections in a mosquito species that is widely distributed in this country. We also demonstrated that blood meal source and mixed blood feeding affects the composition and structure of microbial communities residing in mosquito guts. For Objective 2, significant progress was made in the development and optimization of protocols for evaluating the toxicity of essential oils against adult mosquitoes and their potential application as active ingredients in the attractive toxic sugar bait system. Twenty essential oils were evaluated for toxicity against adult mosquitoes using modified Centers for Disease Control and Prevention bottle assays. Ten essential oils were shown to be toxic against adult mosquitoes and are currently being investigated further to determine their chemical composition, and lethal concentrations. A simple system for delivering sugar solution poisoned with essential oils to adult mosquitoes using glass bottles was developed and is currently been employed to evaluate the 10 essential oils with adulticidal activity for potential application in the attractive toxic sugar bait system. We have also developed essential oil emulsions that were highly effective against larvae of three mosquito species of medical significance regarded as such because of their ability to transmit human pathogens. Record of Any Impact of Maximized Teleworking Requirement: The Maximized Telework Requirements had an impact on several fronts of our research. While we were able to accomplish the milestones for the year, by focusing on a limited number of fungal stocks and essential oils, other areas of our research such as collaborative efforts suffered greatly. Among those collaborations that were just starting at the beginning of the pandemic were collaborative efforts with scientist from DOD-USA (stationed in Peru), Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Panama. The Maximized Telework Requirements has also impacted our ability to train new students and scientists from the USA and abroad, forcing us to cancel student visits from Puerto Rico and Brazil. ACCOMPLISHMENTS 01 Discovery of new mosquito-bacteria associations to advance mosquito control. Wolbachia is known for its ability to suppress mosquito populations and to reduce mosquito susceptibility to pathogens that affect human health. It is therefore being evaluated for potential application in controlling diseases transmitted by mosquitoes. Not all mosquito species carry Wolbachia and their identification in diverse mosquito species is crucial for the design of future Wolbachia-based mosquito control applications. ARS researchers at Peoria, Illinois, in collaboration with researchers at the University of California Merced, identified new mosquito species that harbor the bacterium Wolbachia and that reside along the Central Valley of California. This study provides new mosquito records that can be used by vector control agencies interested in utilizing this technology or by medical entomologist interested in expanding the development of new Wolbachia-based mosquito control applications. 02 Blood meal source and mosquito gut microbial communities. The microbial communities residing in mosquito gut can influence �vector competence,� which is the ability of mosquitoes to transmit disease such as dengue and Zika viruses. ARS researchers at Peoria, Illinois, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Illinois, discovered that the microbes in mosquito gut can change dramatically in response to the animal species that the mosquito feeds on. Given that some gut microbes can prevent the mosquitoes from transmitting disease, these findings suggest that the blood feeding pattern of mosquitoes is likely one of the key factors responsible for population variation in vector competence that is commonly documented in nature. These findings provide new microbial database that can be utilized by public health experts and the scientific community to better describe mosquito populations in a given area and device appropriate mosquito control methods. 03 Essential oil emulsions. Currently, there is an urgent need for environmentally friendly solutions for controlling mosquitoes that transmit diseases important for public health. ARS scientists at Peoria, Illinois, developed environmentally friendly emulsions of opoponax essential oil that were highly toxic to larvae of three mosquito species known to vector human disease pathogen. These emulsions improved the mixing of the opoponax essential oil with water where mosquito larvae live, killing more larvae than when the oil was applied alone. This research provides critical knowledge that can be used to develop essential oil-based biopesticides for mosquito control.
Impacts
(N/A)
Publications
- Muturi, E.J., Njoroge, T.M., Dunlap, C.A., Caceres, C.E. 2021. Blood meal source and mixed blood-feeding influence gut bacterial community composition in Aedes aegypti. Parasites & Vectors. 14. Article 83 https:// doi.org/10.1186/s13071-021-04579-8.
- Muturi, E.J., Hay, W.T., Doll, K.M., Ramirez, J.L., Selling, G.W. 2020. Insecticidal activity of Commiphora erythraea essential oil and its emulsions against larvae of three mosquito species. Journal of Medical Entomology. 57(6):1835-1842. https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjaa097.
- Juma, E.0., Allan, B.F., Kim, C., Stone, C., Dunlap, C.A., Muturi, E.J. 2020. Effect of life stage and pesticide exposure on the gut microbiota of Aedes albopictus and Culex pipiens L. Scientific Reports. 10. Article 9489. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-66452-5.
- Muturi, E.J., Dunlap, C.A., Caceres, C.E. 2020. Microbial communities of container aquatic habitats shift in response to Culex restuans larvae. FEMS Microbiology Ecology. 96(7). Article fiaa112. https://doi.org/10.1093/ femsec/fiaa112.
- Juma, E.O., Allan, B.F., Kim, C., Stone, C., Dunlap, C.A., Muturi, E.J. 2021. The larval environment strongly influences the bacterial communities of Aedes triseriatus and Aedes japonicus (Diptera: Culicidae). Scientific Reports. 11. Article 7910. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-87017-0.
- Munywoki, D.N., Kokwaro, E.D., Mwangangi, J.M., Muturi, E.J., Mbogo, C.M. 2021. Insecticide resistance status in Anopheles gambiae (s.l.) in coastal Kenya. Parasites & Vectors. 14. Article 207. https://doi.org/10.1186/ s13071-021-04706-5.
- Raddi, G., Barletta, A.B.F., Efremova, M., Ramirez, J.L., Cantera, R., Teichmann, S.A., Barillas-Mury, C., Billker, O. 2020. Mosquito cellular immunity at single-cell resolution. Science. 369(6507):1128-1132. https:// doi.org/10.1126/science.abc0322.
- Torres-Cosme, R., Rigg, C., Santamaria, A.M., Vasquez, V., Victoria, C., Ramirez, J.L., Calzada, J., Carrera, L.C. 2021. Natural malaria infection in anophelines vectors and their incrimination in local malaria transmission in Darien, Panama. PLoS ONE. 16(5). Article e0250059. https:// doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0250059.
- Torres, R., Hernandez, E., Flores, V., Ramirez, J.L., Joyce, A.L. 2020. Wolbachia in mosquitoes from the Central Valley of California, USA. Parasites & Vectors. 13. Article 558. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-020- 04429-z.
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