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Cardé RT. Wind Tunnels and Airflow-Driven Assays: Methods for Establishing the Cues and Orientation Mechanisms That Modulate Female Mosquito Attraction to Human Hosts. Cold Spring Harb Protoc 2024; 2024:pdb.over107675. [PMID: 38190632 DOI: 10.1101/pdb.over107675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2024]
Abstract
Understanding how female mosquitoes find a prospective host is crucial to developing means that can interfere with this process. Many methods are available to researchers studying cues and orientation mechanisms that modulate female mosquito attraction to hosts. Behaviors that can be monitored with these assays include activation, taking flight, upwind flight along an odor plume (optomotor anemotaxis), close approach to the stimulus (including hovering), and landing. Video recording can three-dimensionally document flight tracks and can correlate overall distribution patterns and moment-to-moment movements with odor contact and the presence of nearby cues such as a visual target. Here, we introduce mosquito host-seeking behaviors and methods to study them: wind tunnels (which allow orientation in free-flight), airflow-driven assays (using either tethered mosquitoes or small assay chambers that permit flight but also often dictate walking orientation), and still-air assays (wherein in odor concentration and spatial distribution are the orientation cues). We also describe factors that affect the assays and provide assay design considerations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ring T Cardé
- Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, California 92521, USA
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Weiss L, McBride CS. Mosquitoes as a model for understanding the neural basis of natural behaviors. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2024; 87:102897. [PMID: 39002351 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2024.102897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2024] [Revised: 06/18/2024] [Accepted: 06/19/2024] [Indexed: 07/15/2024]
Abstract
Mosquito behaviors have been the subject of extensive research for over a century due to their role in the spread of human disease. However, these behaviors are also beginning to be appreciated as excellent models for neurobiological research in their own right. Many of the same behaviors and sensory abilities that help mosquitoes survive and reproduce alongside humans represent striking examples of generalizable phenomena of longstanding neurobiological interest. In this review, we highlight four prominent examples that promise new insight into (1) precise circadian tuning of sensory systems, (2) processing of complex natural odors, (3) multisensory integration, and (4) modulation of behavior by internal states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Weiss
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Carolyn S McBride
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
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Torto B, Tchouassi DP. Chemical Ecology and Management of Dengue Vectors. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENTOMOLOGY 2024; 69:159-182. [PMID: 37625116 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ento-020123-015755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
Dengue, caused by the dengue virus, is the most widespread arboviral infectious disease of public health significance globally. This review explores the communicative function of olfactory cues that mediate host-seeking, egg-laying, plant-feeding, and mating behaviors in Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, two mosquito vectors that drive dengue virus transmission. Aedes aegypti has adapted to live in close association with humans, preferentially feeding on them and laying eggs in human-fabricated water containers and natural habitats. In contrast, Ae. albopictus is considered opportunistic in its feeding habits and tends to inhabit more vegetative areas. Additionally, the ability of both mosquito species to locate suitable host plants for sugars and find mates for reproduction contributes to their survival. Advances in chemical ecology, functional genomics, and behavioral analyses have improved our understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms and reveal novel and specific olfactory semiochemicals that these species use to locate and discriminate among resources in their environment. Physiological status; learning; and host- and habitat-associated factors, including microbial infection and abundance, shape olfactory responses of these vectors. Some of these semiochemicals can be integrated into the toolbox for dengue surveillance and control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baldwyn Torto
- International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Nairobi, Kenya; ,
| | - David P Tchouassi
- International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Nairobi, Kenya; ,
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Luker HA. A critical review of current laboratory methods used to evaluate mosquito repellents. FRONTIERS IN INSECT SCIENCE 2024; 4:1320138. [PMID: 38469342 PMCID: PMC10926509 DOI: 10.3389/finsc.2024.1320138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
Pathogens transmitted by mosquitoes threaten human health around the globe. The use of effective mosquito repellents can protect individuals from contracting mosquito-borne diseases. Collecting evidence to confirm and quantify the effectiveness of a mosquito repellent is crucial and requires thorough standardized testing. There are multitudes of methods to test repellents that each have their own strengths and weaknesses. Determining which type of test to conduct can be challenging and the collection of currently used and standardized methods has changed over time. Some of these methods can be powerful to rapidly screen numerous putative repellent treatments. Other methods can test mosquito responses to specific treatments and measure either spatial or contact repellency. A subset of these methods uses live animals or human volunteers to test the repellency of treatments. Assays can greatly vary in their affordability and accessibility for researchers and/or may require additional methods to confirm results. Here I present a critical review that covers some of the most frequently used laboratory assays from the last two decades. I discuss the experimental designs and highlight some of the strengths and weaknesses of each type of method covered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hailey A. Luker
- Molecular Vector Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, United States
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Janson KD, Carter BH, Jameson SB, de Verges JE, Dalliance ES, Royse MK, Kim P, Wesson DM, Veiseh O. Development of an automated biomaterial platform to study mosquito feeding behavior. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2023; 11:1103748. [PMID: 36845184 PMCID: PMC9946970 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1103748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Mosquitoes carry a number of deadly pathogens that are transmitted while feeding on blood through the skin, and studying mosquito feeding behavior could elucidate countermeasures to mitigate biting. Although this type of research has existed for decades, there has yet to be a compelling example of a controlled environment to test the impact of multiple variables on mosquito feeding behavior. In this study, we leveraged uniformly bioprinted vascularized skin mimics to create a mosquito feeding platform with independently tunable feeding sites. Our platform allows us to observe mosquito feeding behavior and collect video data for 30-45 min. We maximized throughput by developing a highly accurate computer vision model (mean average precision: 92.5%) that automatically processes videos and increases measurement objectivity. This model enables assessment of critical factors such as feeding and activity around feeding sites, and we used it to evaluate the repellent effect of DEET and oil of lemon eucalyptus-based repellents. We validated that both repellents effectively repel mosquitoes in laboratory settings (0% feeding in experimental groups, 13.8% feeding in control group, p < 0.0001), suggesting our platform's use as a repellent screening assay in the future. The platform is scalable, compact, and reduces dependence on vertebrate hosts in mosquito research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin D. Janson
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Brendan H. Carter
- Department of Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | - Samuel B. Jameson
- Department of Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | - Jane E. de Verges
- Department of Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | - Erika S. Dalliance
- Department of Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | - Madison K. Royse
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Paul Kim
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Dawn M. Wesson
- Department of Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States,*Correspondence: Omid Veiseh, ; Dawn M. Wesson,
| | - Omid Veiseh
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, United States,*Correspondence: Omid Veiseh, ; Dawn M. Wesson,
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