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Abbas H, Sajid MS, Rizwan HM, Tahir UB, Farooqi SH, Iqbal Z, Malik MA, Yaseen K, Maqbool M, Raza FA, Raza M, Fouad D, Ataya FS. Exploring mosquito abundance and Plasmodium infection through nested-PCR: implications for disease surveillance and control. Sci Rep 2024; 14:9871. [PMID: 38684775 PMCID: PMC11058852 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-60662-x] [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: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
The Plasmodium is responsible for malaria which poses a major health threat, globally. This study is based on the estimation of the relative abundance of mosquitoes, and finding out the correlations of meteorological parameters (temperature, humidity and rainfall) with the abundance of mosquitoes. In addition, this study also focused on the use of nested PCR (species-specific nucleotide sequences of 18S rRNA genes) to explore the Plasmodium spp. in female Anopheles. In the current study, the percentage relative abundance of Culex mosquitoes was 57.65% and Anopheles 42.34% among the study areas. In addition, the highest number of mosquitoes was found in March in district Mandi Bahauddin at 21 °C (Tmax = 27, Tmin = 15) average temperature, 69% average relative humidity and 131 mm rainfall, and these climatic factors were found to affect the abundance of the mosquitoes, directly or indirectly. Molecular analysis showed that overall, 41.3% of the female Anopheles pools were positive for genus Plasmodium. Among species, the prevalence of Plasmodium (P.) vivax (78.1%) was significantly higher than P. falciparum (21.9%). This study will be helpful in the estimation of future risk of mosquito-borne diseases along with population dynamic of mosquitoes to enhance the effectiveness of vector surveillance and control programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haider Abbas
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38040, Pakistan.
- Department of Pathobiology (Parasitology Section), KBCMA College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Narowal, Sub-Campus, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), Lahore, Pakistan.
| | - Muhammad S Sajid
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38040, Pakistan
| | - Hafiz M Rizwan
- Department of Pathobiology (Parasitology Section), KBCMA College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Narowal, Sub-Campus, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Urfa B Tahir
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38040, Pakistan
- Department of Aquatic Animal Medicine, College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Shahid H Farooqi
- Department of Clinical Sciences (Medicine Section), KBCMA College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Narowal, Sub-Campus, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Zeeshan Iqbal
- Department of Animal Sciences (Livestock Section), KBCMA College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Narowal, Sub-Campus, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad A Malik
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38040, Pakistan
| | - Kashaf Yaseen
- Institute of Microbiology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38040, Pakistan
| | - Mahvish Maqbool
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38040, Pakistan
| | - Faiz A Raza
- Health Research Institute, National Institute of Health, Research Centre, , King Edward Medical University, Lahore, 54000, Pakistan
| | - Mohsin Raza
- Department of Basic Sciences (Physiology Section), KBCMA College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Narowal, Sub-Campus, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Dalia Fouad
- Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, PO Box 22452, Riyadh, 11495, Saudi Arabia
| | - Farid S Ataya
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, PO Box 2455, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia
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Xia S, Ury J, Powell JR. Increasing Effectiveness of Genetically Modifying Mosquito Populations: Risk Assessment of Releasing Blood-Fed Females. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2021; 104:1895-1906. [PMID: 33782213 PMCID: PMC8103460 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.19-0729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2019] [Accepted: 01/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Releasing mosquito refractory to pathogens has been proposed as a means of controlling mosquito-borne diseases. A recent modeling study demonstrated that instead of the conventional male-only releases, adding blood-fed females to the release population could significantly increase the program's efficiency, hastening the decrease in disease transmission competence of the target mosquito population and reducing the duration and costs of the release program. However, releasing female mosquitoes presents a short-term risk of increased disease transmission. To quantify this risk, we constructed a Ross-MacDonald model and an individual-based stochastic model to estimate the increase in disease transmission contributed by the released blood-fed females, using the mosquito Aedes aegypti and the dengue virus as a model system. Under baseline parameter values informed by empirical data, our stochastic models predicted a 1.1-5.5% increase in dengue transmission during the initial release, depending on the resistance level of released mosquitoes and release size. The basic reproductive number (R0) increased by 0.45-3.62%. The stochastic simulations were then extended to 10 releases to evaluate the long-term effect. The overall reduction of disease transmission was much greater than the number of potential infections directly contributed by the released females. Releasing blood-fed females with males could also outperform conventional male-only releases when the release strain is sufficiently resistant, and the release size is relatively small. Overall, these results suggested that the long-term benefit of releasing blood-fed females often outweighs the short-term risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyang Xia
- Address correspondence to Siyang Xia, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Ave., Kresge Bldg. 9th Floor, Boston, MA 02115. E-mail:
| | | | - Jeffrey R. Powell
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
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The importance of density dependence in juvenile mosquito development and survival: A model-based investigation. Ecol Modell 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.109357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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Sedda L, Taylor BM, Eiras AE, Marques JT, Dillon RJ. Using the intrinsic growth rate of the mosquito population improves spatio-temporal dengue risk estimation. Acta Trop 2020; 208:105519. [PMID: 32389450 PMCID: PMC7315132 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2020.105519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2020] [Revised: 04/25/2020] [Accepted: 04/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Understanding geographic population dynamics of mosquitoes is an essential requirement for estimating the risk of mosquito-borne disease transmission and geographically targeted interventions. However, the use of population dynamics measures, such as the intrinsic growth rate, as predictors in spatio-temporal point processes has not been investigated before. In this work we compared the predictive accuracy of four spatio-temporal log-Gaussian Cox models: (i) With no predictors; (ii) mosquito abundance as predictor; (iii) intrinsic growth rate as predictor; (iv) intrinsic growth rate and mosquito abundance as predictors. This analysis is based on Aedes aegypti mosquito surveillance and human dengue data obtained from the urban area of Caratinga, Brazil. We used a statistical Moran Curve approach to estimate the intrinsic growth rate and a zero inflated Poisson kriging model for estimating mosquito abundance at locations of dengue cases. The incidence of dengue cases was positively associated with mosquito intrinsic growth rate and this model outperformed, in terms of predictive accuracy, the abundance and the null models. The latter includes only the spatio-temporal random effect but no predictors. In the light of these results we suggest that the intrinsic growth rate should be investigated further as a potential tool for predicting the risk of dengue transmission and targeting health interventions for vector-borne diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigi Sedda
- Lancaster Medical School, Furness Building, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YG, UK.
| | - Benjamín M Taylor
- Centre for Health Informatics, Computing, and Statistics (CHICAS), Lancaster Medical School, Furness Building, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YG, UK
| | - Alvaro E Eiras
- Department of Parasitology, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, CEP 30270-901, Brazil
| | - João Trindade Marques
- Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, CEP 30270-901, Brazil; Institut de biologie moléculaire et cellulaire, Université de Strasbourg, CNRS UPR9022, Inserm U1257, 67084 Strasbourrg, France
| | - Rod J Dillon
- Biomedical and Life Sciences, Furness Building, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YG, UK
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Buchman AB, Ivy T, Marshall JM, Akbari OS, Hay BA. Engineered Reciprocal Chromosome Translocations Drive High Threshold, Reversible Population Replacement in Drosophila. ACS Synth Biol 2018. [PMID: 29608276 DOI: 10.1101/088393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Replacement of wild insect populations with transgene-bearing individuals unable to transmit disease or survive under specific environmental conditions using gene drive provides a self-perpetuating method of disease prevention. Mechanisms that require the gene drive element and linked cargo to exceed a high threshold frequency in order for spread to occur are attractive because they offer several points of control: they bring about local, but not global population replacement; and transgenes can be eliminated by reintroducing wildtypes into the population so as to drive the frequency of transgenes below the threshold frequency required for drive. Reciprocal chromosome translocations were proposed as a tool for bringing about high threshold population replacement in 1940 and 1968. However, translocations able to achieve this goal have only been reported once, in the spider mite Tetranychus urticae, a haplo-diploid species in which there is strong selection in haploid males for fit homozygotes. We report the creation of engineered translocation-bearing strains of Drosophila melanogaster, generated through targeted chromosomal breakage and homologous recombination. These strains drive high threshold population replacement in laboratory populations. While it remains to be shown that engineered translocations can bring about population replacement in wild populations, these observations suggest that further exploration of engineered translocations as a tool for controlled population replacement is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna B Buchman
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering , California Institute of Technology , Pasadena , California 91125 , United States
- Division of Biological Sciences , University of California , San Diego , California 92161 , United States
| | - Tobin Ivy
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering , California Institute of Technology , Pasadena , California 91125 , United States
| | - John M Marshall
- School of Public Health , University of California , Berkeley , California 94720 , United States
| | - Omar S Akbari
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering , California Institute of Technology , Pasadena , California 91125 , United States
- Division of Biological Sciences , University of California , San Diego , California 92161 , United States
| | - Bruce A Hay
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering , California Institute of Technology , Pasadena , California 91125 , United States
- Division of Biological Sciences , University of California , San Diego , California 92161 , United States
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Macias VM, Ohm JR, Rasgon JL. Gene Drive for Mosquito Control: Where Did It Come from and Where Are We Headed? INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2017; 14:ijerph14091006. [PMID: 28869513 PMCID: PMC5615543 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph14091006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2017] [Revised: 08/25/2017] [Accepted: 08/28/2017] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Mosquito-borne pathogens place an enormous burden on human health. The existing toolkit is insufficient to support ongoing vector-control efforts towards meeting disease elimination and eradication goals. The perspective that genetic approaches can potentially add a significant set of tools toward mosquito control is not new, but the recent improvements in site-specific gene editing with CRISPR/Cas9 systems have enhanced our ability to both study mosquito biology using reverse genetics and produce genetics-based tools. Cas9-mediated gene-editing is an efficient and adaptable platform for gene drive strategies, which have advantages over innundative release strategies for introgressing desirable suppression and pathogen-blocking genotypes into wild mosquito populations; until recently, an effective gene drive has been largely out of reach. Many considerations will inform the effective use of new genetic tools, including gene drives. Here we review the lengthy history of genetic advances in mosquito biology and discuss both the impact of efficient site-specific gene editing on vector biology and the resulting potential to deploy new genetic tools for the abatement of mosquito-borne disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa M Macias
- Department of Entomology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
| | - Johanna R Ohm
- Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
| | - Jason L Rasgon
- Department of Entomology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
- Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
- The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
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Drury DW, Dapper AL, Siniard DJ, Zentner GE, Wade MJ. CRISPR/Cas9 gene drives in genetically variable and nonrandomly mating wild populations. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2017; 3:e1601910. [PMID: 28560324 PMCID: PMC5438214 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1601910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2016] [Accepted: 03/20/2017] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Synthetic gene drives based on CRISPR/Cas9 have the potential to control, alter, or suppress populations of crop pests and disease vectors, but it is unclear how they will function in wild populations. Using genetic data from four populations of the flour beetle Tribolium castaneum, we show that most populations harbor genetic variants in Cas9 target sites, some of which would render them immune to drive (ITD). We show that even a rare ITD allele can reduce or eliminate the efficacy of a CRISPR/Cas9-based synthetic gene drive. This effect is equivalent to and accentuated by mild inbreeding, which is a characteristic of many disease-vectoring arthropods. We conclude that designing such drives will require characterization of genetic variability and the mating system within and among targeted populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Douglas W. Drury
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | | | - Dylan J. Siniard
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | | | - Michael J. Wade
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
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Highly efficient Cas9-mediated gene drive for population modification of the malaria vector mosquito Anopheles stephensi. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015; 112:E6736-43. [PMID: 26598698 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1521077112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 586] [Impact Index Per Article: 65.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetic engineering technologies can be used both to create transgenic mosquitoes carrying antipathogen effector genes targeting human malaria parasites and to generate gene-drive systems capable of introgressing the genes throughout wild vector populations. We developed a highly effective autonomous Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)-associated protein 9 (Cas9)-mediated gene-drive system in the Asian malaria vector Anopheles stephensi, adapted from the mutagenic chain reaction (MCR). This specific system results in progeny of males and females derived from transgenic males exhibiting a high frequency of germ-line gene conversion consistent with homology-directed repair (HDR). This system copies an ∼ 17-kb construct from its site of insertion to its homologous chromosome in a faithful, site-specific manner. Dual anti-Plasmodium falciparum effector genes, a marker gene, and the autonomous gene-drive components are introgressed into ∼ 99.5% of the progeny following outcrosses of transgenic lines to wild-type mosquitoes. The effector genes remain transcriptionally inducible upon blood feeding. In contrast to the efficient conversion in individuals expressing Cas9 only in the germ line, males and females derived from transgenic females, which are expected to have drive component molecules in the egg, produce progeny with a high frequency of mutations in the targeted genome sequence, resulting in near-Mendelian inheritance ratios of the transgene. Such mutant alleles result presumably from nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) events before the segregation of somatic and germ-line lineages early in development. These data support the design of this system to be active strictly within the germ line. Strains based on this technology could sustain control and elimination as part of the malaria eradication agenda.
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Kean J, Rainey SM, McFarlane M, Donald CL, Schnettler E, Kohl A, Pondeville E. Fighting Arbovirus Transmission: Natural and Engineered Control of Vector Competence in Aedes Mosquitoes. INSECTS 2015; 6:236-78. [PMID: 26463078 PMCID: PMC4553541 DOI: 10.3390/insects6010236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2014] [Revised: 02/18/2015] [Accepted: 03/10/2015] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Control of aedine mosquito vectors, either by mosquito population reduction or replacement with refractory mosquitoes, may play an essential role in the fight against arboviral diseases. In this review, we will focus on the development and application of biological approaches, both natural or engineered, to limit mosquito vector competence for arboviruses. The study of mosquito antiviral immunity has led to the identification of a number of host response mechanisms and proteins that are required to control arbovirus replication in mosquitoes, though more factors influencing vector competence are likely to be discovered. We will discuss key aspects of these pathways as targets either for selection of naturally resistant mosquito populations or for mosquito genetic manipulation. Moreover, we will consider the use of endosymbiotic bacteria such as Wolbachia, which in some cases have proven to be remarkably efficient in disrupting arbovirus transmission by mosquitoes, but also the use of naturally occurring insect-specific viruses that may interfere with arboviruses in mosquito vectors. Finally, we will discuss the use of paratransgenesis as well as entomopathogenic fungi, which are also proposed strategies to control vector competence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joy Kean
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, G61 1QH, Scotland, UK.
| | - Stephanie M Rainey
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, G61 1QH, Scotland, UK.
| | - Melanie McFarlane
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, G61 1QH, Scotland, UK.
| | - Claire L Donald
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, G61 1QH, Scotland, UK.
| | - Esther Schnettler
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, G61 1QH, Scotland, UK.
| | - Alain Kohl
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, G61 1QH, Scotland, UK.
| | - Emilie Pondeville
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, G61 1QH, Scotland, UK.
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