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Blanken SL, Prudhomme O'Meara W, Hol FJH, Bousema T, Markwalter CF. À la carte: how mosquitoes choose their blood meals. Trends Parasitol 2024; 40:591-603. [PMID: 38853076 PMCID: PMC11223952 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2024.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2024] [Revised: 05/13/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
Mosquitoes are important vectors for human diseases, transmitting pathogens that cause a range of parasitic and viral infections. Mosquito blood-feeding is heterogeneous, meaning that some human hosts are at higher risk of receiving bites than others, and this heterogeneity is multifactorial. Mosquitoes integrate specific cues to locate their hosts, and mosquito attraction differs considerably between individual human hosts. Heterogeneous mosquito biting results from variations in both host attractiveness and availability and can impact transmission of vector-borne diseases. However, the extent and drivers of this heterogeneity and its importance for pathogen transmission remain incompletely understood. Here, we review methods and recent data describing human characteristics that affect host-seeking behavior and host preferences of mosquito disease vectors, and the implications for vector-borne disease transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Lynn Blanken
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Wendy Prudhomme O'Meara
- Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA; Division of Infectious Diseases, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Felix J H Hol
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Teun Bousema
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Immunology and Infection, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
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Mbewe RB, Keven JB, Mangani C, Wilson ML, Mzilahowa T, Mathanga DP, Valim C, Laufer MK, Walker ED, Cohee LM. Genotyping of Anopheles mosquito blood meals reveals nonrandom human host selection: implications for human-to-mosquito Plasmodium falciparum transmission. Malar J 2023; 22:115. [PMID: 37029433 PMCID: PMC10080529 DOI: 10.1186/s12936-023-04541-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/09/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Control of malaria parasite transmission can be enhanced by understanding which human demographic groups serve as the infectious reservoirs. Because vector biting can be heterogeneous, some infected individuals may contribute more to human-to-mosquito transmission than others. Infection prevalence peaks in school-age children, but it is not known how often they are fed upon. Genotypic profiling of human blood permits identification of individual humans who were bitten. The present investigation used this method to estimate which human demographic groups were most responsible for transmitting malaria parasites to Anopheles mosquitoes. It was hypothesized that school-age children contribute more than other demographic groups to human-to-mosquito malaria transmission. METHODS In a region of moderate-to-high malaria incidence in southeastern Malawi, randomly selected households were surveyed to collect human demographic information and blood samples. Blood-fed, female Anopheles mosquitoes were sampled indoors from the same houses. Genomic DNA from human blood samples and mosquito blood meals of human origin was genotyped using 24 microsatellite loci. The resultant genotypes were matched to identify which individual humans were sources of blood meals. In addition, Plasmodium falciparum DNA in mosquito abdomens was detected with polymerase chain reaction. The combined results were used to identify which humans were most frequently bitten, and the P. falciparum infection prevalence in mosquitoes that resulted from these blood meals. RESULTS Anopheles females selected human hosts non-randomly and fed on more than one human in 9% of the blood meals. Few humans contributed most of the blood meals to the Anopheles vector population. Children ≤ 5 years old were under-represented in mosquito blood meals while older males (31-75 years old) were over-represented. However, the largest number of malaria-infected blood meals was from school age children (6-15 years old). CONCLUSIONS The results support the hypothesis that humans aged 6-15 years are the most important demographic group contributing to the transmission of P. falciparum to the Anopheles mosquito vectors. This conclusion suggests that malaria control and prevention programmes should enhance efforts targeting school-age children and males.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rex B Mbewe
- Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
- Department of Physics and Biochemical Sciences, Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi.
| | - John B Keven
- Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
- Department of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Charles Mangani
- Malaria Alert Center, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi
| | - Mark L Wilson
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Themba Mzilahowa
- Malaria Alert Center, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi
| | - Don P Mathanga
- Malaria Alert Center, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi
| | - Clarissa Valim
- Department of Global Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Miriam K Laufer
- Malaria Research Program, Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Edward D Walker
- Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Lauren M Cohee
- Malaria Research Program, Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
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3
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Mitchell CL, Schwarzer AR, Miarinjara A, Jarrett CO, Luis AD, Hinnebusch BJ. A Role for Early-Phase Transmission in the Enzootic Maintenance of Plague. PLoS Pathog 2022; 18:e1010996. [PMID: 36520713 PMCID: PMC9754260 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Yersinia pestis, the bacterial agent of plague, is enzootic in many parts of the world within wild rodent populations and is transmitted by different flea vectors. The ecology of plague is complex, with rodent hosts exhibiting varying susceptibilities to overt disease and their fleas exhibiting varying levels of vector competence. A long-standing question in plague ecology concerns the conditions that lead to occasional epizootics among susceptible rodents. Many factors are involved, but a major one is the transmission efficiency of the flea vector. In this study, using Oropsylla montana (a ground squirrel flea that is a major plague vector in the western United States), we comparatively quantified the efficiency of the two basic modes of flea-borne transmission. Transmission efficiency by the early-phase mechanism was strongly affected by the host blood source. Subsequent biofilm-dependent transmission by blocked fleas was less influenced by host blood and was more efficient. Mathematical modeling predicted that early-phase transmission could drive an epizootic only among highly susceptible rodents with certain blood characteristics, but that transmission by blocked O. montana could do so in more resistant hosts irrespective of their blood characteristics. The models further suggested that for most wild rodents, exposure to sublethal doses of Y. pestis transmitted during the early phase may restrain rapid epizootic spread by increasing the number of immune, resistant individuals in the population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cedar L. Mitchell
- Laboratory of Bacteriology, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
| | - Ashley R. Schwarzer
- Laboratory of Bacteriology, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
| | - Adélaïde Miarinjara
- Laboratory of Bacteriology, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
| | - Clayton O. Jarrett
- Laboratory of Bacteriology, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
| | - Angela D. Luis
- Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, United States of America
| | - B. Joseph Hinnebusch
- Laboratory of Bacteriology, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Talyuli OAC, Bottino-Rojas V, Polycarpo CR, Oliveira PL, Paiva-Silva GO. Non-immune Traits Triggered by Blood Intake Impact Vectorial Competence. Front Physiol 2021; 12:638033. [PMID: 33737885 PMCID: PMC7960658 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2021.638033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 02/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Blood-feeding arthropods are considered an enormous public health threat. They are vectors of a plethora of infectious agents that cause potentially fatal diseases like Malaria, Dengue fever, Leishmaniasis, and Lyme disease. These vectors shine due to their own physiological idiosyncrasies, but one biological aspect brings them all together: the requirement of blood intake for development and reproduction. It is through blood-feeding that they acquire pathogens and during blood digestion that they summon a collection of multisystemic events critical for vector competence. The literature is focused on how classical immune pathways (Toll, IMD, and JAK/Stat) are elicited throughout the course of vector infection. Still, they are not the sole determinants of host permissiveness. The dramatic changes that are the hallmark of the insect physiology after a blood meal intake are the landscape where a successful infection takes place. Dominant processes that occur in response to a blood meal are not canonical immunological traits yet are critical in establishing vector competence. These include hormonal circuitries and reproductive physiology, midgut permeability barriers, midgut homeostasis, energy metabolism, and proteolytic activity. On the other hand, the parasites themselves have a role in the outcome of these blood triggered physiological events, consistently using them in their favor. Here, to enlighten the knowledge on vector-pathogen interaction beyond the immune pathways, we will explore different aspects of the vector physiology, discussing how they give support to these long-dated host-parasite relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Octavio A C Talyuli
- Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Vanessa Bottino-Rojas
- Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Carla R Polycarpo
- Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Entomologia Molecular, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Pedro L Oliveira
- Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Entomologia Molecular, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Gabriela O Paiva-Silva
- Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Entomologia Molecular, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Modernizing the Toolkit for Arthropod Bloodmeal Identification. INSECTS 2021; 12:insects12010037. [PMID: 33418885 PMCID: PMC7825046 DOI: 10.3390/insects12010037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2020] [Revised: 12/30/2020] [Accepted: 12/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary The ability to identify the source of vertebrate blood in mosquitoes, ticks, and other blood-feeding arthropod vectors greatly enhances our knowledge of how vector-borne pathogens are spread. The source of the bloodmeal is identified by analyzing the remnants of blood remaining in the arthropod at the time of capture, though this is often fraught with challenges. This review provides a roadmap and guide for those considering modern techniques for arthropod bloodmeal identification with a focus on progress made in the field over the past decade. We highlight genome regions that can be used to identify the vertebrate source of arthropod bloodmeals as well as technological advances made in other fields that have introduced innovative new ways to identify vertebrate meal source based on unique properties of the DNA sequence, protein signatures, or residual molecules present in the blood. Additionally, engineering progress in miniaturization has led to a number of field-deployable technologies that bring the laboratory directly to the arthropods at the site of collection. Although many of these advancements have helped to address the technical challenges of the past, the challenge of successfully analyzing degraded DNA in bloodmeals remains to be solved. Abstract Understanding vertebrate–vector interactions is vitally important for understanding the transmission dynamics of arthropod-vectored pathogens and depends on the ability to accurately identify the vertebrate source of blood-engorged arthropods in field collections using molecular methods. A decade ago, molecular techniques being applied to arthropod blood meal identification were thoroughly reviewed, but there have been significant advancements in the techniques and technologies available since that time. This review highlights the available diagnostic markers in mitochondrial and nuclear DNA and discusses their benefits and shortcomings for use in molecular identification assays. Advances in real-time PCR, high resolution melting analysis, digital PCR, next generation sequencing, microsphere assays, mass spectrometry, and stable isotope analysis each offer novel approaches and advantages to bloodmeal analysis that have gained traction in the field. New, field-forward technologies and platforms have also come into use that offer promising solutions for point-of-care and remote field deployment for rapid bloodmeal source identification. Some of the lessons learned over the last decade, particularly in the fields of DNA barcoding and sequence analysis, are discussed. Though many advancements have been made, technical challenges remain concerning the prevention of sample degradation both by the arthropod before the sample has been obtained and during storage. This review provides a roadmap and guide for those considering modern techniques for arthropod bloodmeal identification and reviews how advances in molecular technology over the past decade have been applied in this unique biomedical context.
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Massad E, Laporta GZ, Conn JE, Chaves LS, Bergo ES, Figueira EAG, Bezerra Coutinho FA, Lopez LF, Struchiner C, Sallum MAM. The risk of malaria infection for travelers visiting the Brazilian Amazonian region: A mathematical modeling approach. Travel Med Infect Dis 2020; 37:101792. [PMID: 32771653 DOI: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2020.101792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Revised: 05/30/2020] [Accepted: 06/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Human mobility between malaria endemic and malaria-free areas can hinder control and elimination efforts in the Amazon basin, maintaining Plasmodium circulation and introduction to new areas. METHODS The analysis begins by estimating the incidence of malaria in areas of interest. Then, the risk of infection as a function of the duration of stay after t0 was calculated as the number of infected travelers over the number of arrived travelers. Differential equations were employed to estimate the risk of nonimmune travelers acquiring malaria in Amazonian municipalities. Risk was calculated as a result of the force of the infection in terms of local dynamics per time of arrival and duration of visit. RESULTS Maximum risk occurred at the peak or at the end of the rainy season and it was nonlinearly (exponentially) correlated with the fraction of infected mosquitoes. Relationship between the risk of malaria and duration of visit was linear and positively correlated. Relationship between the risk of malaria and the time of arrival in the municipality was dependent on local effects of seasonality. CONCLUSIONS The risk of nonimmune travelers acquiring malaria is not negligible and can maintain regional circulation of parasites, propagating introductions in areas where malaria has been eliminated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo Massad
- Escola de Matemática Aplicada, Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Gabriel Zorello Laporta
- Setor de Pós-graduação, Pesquisa e Inovação, Centro Universitário Saúde ABC, Fundação do ABC, Santo André, SP, Brazil
| | - Jan Evelyn Conn
- Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY, USA
| | - Leonardo Suveges Chaves
- Departamento de Epidemiologia, Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Eduardo Sterlino Bergo
- Superintendência de Controle de Endemias, Secretaria de Estado da Saúde de São Paulo, Araraquara, SP, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - Claudio Struchiner
- Escola de Matemática Aplicada, Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Maria Anice Mureb Sallum
- Departamento de Epidemiologia, Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
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Graumans W, Jacobs E, Bousema T, Sinnis P. When Is a Plasmodium-Infected Mosquito an Infectious Mosquito? Trends Parasitol 2020; 36:705-716. [PMID: 32620501 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2020.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2020] [Revised: 05/19/2020] [Accepted: 05/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Plasmodium parasites experience significant bottlenecks as they transit through the mosquito and are transmitted to their mammalian host. Oocyst prevalence on mosquito midguts and sporozoite prevalence in salivary glands are nevertheless commonly used to confirm successful malaria transmission, assuming that these are reliable indicators of the mosquito's capacity to give rise to secondary infections. Here we discuss recent insights in sporogonic development and transmission bottlenecks for Plasmodium. We highlight critical gaps in our knowledge and frame their importance in understanding the human and mosquito reservoirs of infection. A better understanding of the events that lead to successful inoculation of infectious sporozoites by mosquitoes is critical to designing effective interventions to shrink the malaria map.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wouter Graumans
- Radboud University Medical Center, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Department of Medical Microbiology, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Ella Jacobs
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, and Johns Hopkins Malaria Institute, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Teun Bousema
- Radboud University Medical Center, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Department of Medical Microbiology, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Immunology and Infection, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
| | - Photini Sinnis
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, and Johns Hopkins Malaria Institute, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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8
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Keven JB, Artzberger G, Gillies ML, Mbewe RB, Walker ED. Probe-based multiplex qPCR identifies blood-meal hosts in Anopheles mosquitoes from Papua New Guinea. Parasit Vectors 2020; 13:111. [PMID: 32111232 PMCID: PMC7048118 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-020-3986-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2019] [Accepted: 02/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Determination of blood-meal hosts in blood-fed female Anopheles mosquitoes is important for evaluating vectorial capacity of vector populations and assessing effectiveness of vector control measures. Sensitive molecular methods are needed to detect traces of host blood in mosquito samples, to differentiate hosts, and to detect mixed host blood meals. This paper describes a molecular probe-based quantitative PCR for identifying blood-meal hosts in Anopheles malaria vectors from Papua New Guinea. METHODS TaqMan oligonucleotide probes targeting specific regions of mitochondrial or nuclear DNA of the three primary Anopheles blood-meal hosts, humans, pigs and dogs, were incorporated into a multiplex, quantitative PCR which was optimized for sensitivity and specificity. RESULTS Amplification of serially diluted DNA showed that the quantitative PCR detected as low as 10-5 ng/μl of host DNA. Application to field-collected, blood-fed Anopheles showed that the quantitative PCR identified the vertebrate hosts for 89% (335/375) of mosquitoes whereas only 55% (104/188) of blood-meal samples tested in a conventional PCR were identified. Of the 104 blood-fed Anopheles that were positive in both PCR methods, 16 (15.4%) were identified as mixed blood meals by the quantitative PCR whereas only 3 (2.9%) were mixed blood meals by the conventional PCR. CONCLUSIONS The multiplex quantitative PCR described here is sensitive at detecting low DNA concentration and mixed host DNA in samples and useful for blood-meal analysis of field mosquitoes, in particular mixed-host blood meals.
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Affiliation(s)
- John B Keven
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA. .,Vector Borne Diseases Unit, Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, Madang, Papua New Guinea.
| | - Georgia Artzberger
- Department of Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Mary L Gillies
- Department of Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Rex B Mbewe
- Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.,Department of Physics and Biochemical Sciences, University of Malawi, The Polytechnic, Blantyre, Malawi
| | - Edward D Walker
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.,Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
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