|
1
|
Mysore K, Sun L, Hapairai LK, Wang CW, Igiede J, Roethele JB, Scheel ND, Scheel MP, Li P, Wei N, Severson DW, Duman-Scheel M. A Yeast RNA-Interference Pesticide Targeting the Irx Gene Functions as a Broad-Based Mosquito Larvicide and Adulticide. INSECTS 2021; 12:insects12110986. [PMID: 34821787 PMCID: PMC8622680 DOI: 10.3390/insects12110986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Revised: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary It is critical that we identify new methods of preventing mosquito-borne infectious diseases, which threaten millions of people worldwide. In this investigation, we describe characterization of a new insecticide that turns off the mosquito Iroquois (Irx) gene, which is required for mosquito survival. The pesticide is synthesized in yeast, which can be fed to adult mosquitoes in a sugar bait solution or to juvenile mosquitoes that eat the yeast when it is placed in water where mosquitoes breed. Although the yeast kills several different types of mosquitoes, it was not found to affect the survival of other types of arthropods that consumed the yeast. These results indicate that yeast insecticides could one day be used for environmentally friendly mosquito control and disease prevention. Abstract Concerns for widespread insecticide resistance and the unintended impacts of insecticides on nontarget organisms have generated a pressing need for mosquito control innovations. A yeast RNAi-based insecticide that targets a conserved site in mosquito Irx family genes, but which has not yet been identified in the genomes of nontarget organisms, was developed and characterized. Saccharomyces cerevisiae constructed to express short hairpin RNA (shRNA) matching the target site induced significant Aedes aegypti larval death in both lab trials and outdoor semi-field evaluations. The yeast also induced high levels of mortality in adult females, which readily consumed yeast incorporated into an attractive targeted sugar bait (ATSB) during simulated field trials. A conserved requirement for Irx function as a regulator of proneural gene expression was observed in the mosquito brain, suggesting a possible mode of action. The larvicidal and adulticidal properties of the yeast were also verified in Aedes albopictus, Anopheles gambiae, and Culexquinquefasciatus mosquitoes, but the yeast larvicide was not toxic to other nontarget arthropods. These results indicate that further development and evaluation of this technology as an ecofriendly control intervention is warranted, and that ATSBs, an emerging mosquito control paradigm, could potentially be enriched through the use of yeast-based RNAi technology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Keshava Mysore
- Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Raclin-Carmichael Hall, 1234 Notre Dame Ave., South Bend, IN 46617, USA; (K.M.); (L.S.); (L.K.H.); (J.B.R.); (M.P.S.); (P.L.); (D.W.S.)
- Eck Institute for Global Health, The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA; (C.-W.W.); (J.I.); (N.D.S.); (N.W.)
| | - Longhua Sun
- Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Raclin-Carmichael Hall, 1234 Notre Dame Ave., South Bend, IN 46617, USA; (K.M.); (L.S.); (L.K.H.); (J.B.R.); (M.P.S.); (P.L.); (D.W.S.)
- Eck Institute for Global Health, The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA; (C.-W.W.); (J.I.); (N.D.S.); (N.W.)
| | - Limb K. Hapairai
- Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Raclin-Carmichael Hall, 1234 Notre Dame Ave., South Bend, IN 46617, USA; (K.M.); (L.S.); (L.K.H.); (J.B.R.); (M.P.S.); (P.L.); (D.W.S.)
- Eck Institute for Global Health, The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA; (C.-W.W.); (J.I.); (N.D.S.); (N.W.)
| | - Chien-Wei Wang
- Eck Institute for Global Health, The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA; (C.-W.W.); (J.I.); (N.D.S.); (N.W.)
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
| | - Jessica Igiede
- Eck Institute for Global Health, The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA; (C.-W.W.); (J.I.); (N.D.S.); (N.W.)
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
| | - Joseph B. Roethele
- Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Raclin-Carmichael Hall, 1234 Notre Dame Ave., South Bend, IN 46617, USA; (K.M.); (L.S.); (L.K.H.); (J.B.R.); (M.P.S.); (P.L.); (D.W.S.)
- Eck Institute for Global Health, The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA; (C.-W.W.); (J.I.); (N.D.S.); (N.W.)
| | - Nicholas D. Scheel
- Eck Institute for Global Health, The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA; (C.-W.W.); (J.I.); (N.D.S.); (N.W.)
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
| | - Max P. Scheel
- Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Raclin-Carmichael Hall, 1234 Notre Dame Ave., South Bend, IN 46617, USA; (K.M.); (L.S.); (L.K.H.); (J.B.R.); (M.P.S.); (P.L.); (D.W.S.)
- Eck Institute for Global Health, The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA; (C.-W.W.); (J.I.); (N.D.S.); (N.W.)
| | - Ping Li
- Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Raclin-Carmichael Hall, 1234 Notre Dame Ave., South Bend, IN 46617, USA; (K.M.); (L.S.); (L.K.H.); (J.B.R.); (M.P.S.); (P.L.); (D.W.S.)
- Eck Institute for Global Health, The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA; (C.-W.W.); (J.I.); (N.D.S.); (N.W.)
| | - Na Wei
- Eck Institute for Global Health, The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA; (C.-W.W.); (J.I.); (N.D.S.); (N.W.)
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
| | - David W. Severson
- Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Raclin-Carmichael Hall, 1234 Notre Dame Ave., South Bend, IN 46617, USA; (K.M.); (L.S.); (L.K.H.); (J.B.R.); (M.P.S.); (P.L.); (D.W.S.)
- Eck Institute for Global Health, The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA; (C.-W.W.); (J.I.); (N.D.S.); (N.W.)
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
- Department of Life Sciences, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago
| | - Molly Duman-Scheel
- Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Raclin-Carmichael Hall, 1234 Notre Dame Ave., South Bend, IN 46617, USA; (K.M.); (L.S.); (L.K.H.); (J.B.R.); (M.P.S.); (P.L.); (D.W.S.)
- Eck Institute for Global Health, The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA; (C.-W.W.); (J.I.); (N.D.S.); (N.W.)
- Correspondence:
| |
Collapse
|
|
3
|
Fikrig K, Peck S, Deckerman P, Dang S, St Fleur K, Goldsmith H, Qu S, Rosenthal H, Harrington LC. Sugar feeding patterns of New York Aedes albopictus mosquitoes are affected by saturation deficit, flowers, and host seeking. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2020; 14:e0008244. [PMID: 33104694 PMCID: PMC7644106 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2020] [Revised: 11/05/2020] [Accepted: 09/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sugar feeding is an important behavior which may determine vector potential of female mosquitoes. Sugar meals can reduce blood feeding frequency, enhance survival, and decrease fecundity, as well as provide energetic reserves to fuel energy intensive behaviors such as mating and host seeking. Sugar feeding behavior can be harnessed for vector control (e.g. attractive toxic sugar baits). Few studies have addressed sugar feeding of Aedes albopictus, a vector of arboviruses of public health importance, including dengue and Zika viruses. To address this knowledge gap, we assessed sugar feeding patterns of Ae. albopictus for the first time in its invasive northeastern USA range. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Using the cold anthrone fructose assay with robust sample sizes, we demonstrated that a large percentage of both male (49.6%) and female (41.8%) Ae. albopictus fed on plant or homopteran derived sugar sources within 24 hrs prior to capture. Our results suggest that sugar feeding behavior increases when environmental conditions are dry (high saturation deficit) and may vary by behavioral status (host seeking vs. resting). Furthermore, mosquitoes collected on properties with flowers (>3 blooms) had higher fructose concentrations compared to those collected from properties with few to no flowers (0-3). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Our results provide the first evidence of Ae. albopictus sugar feeding behavior in the Northeastern US and reveal relatively high rates of sugar feeding. These results suggest the potential success for regional deployment of toxic sugar baits. In addition, we demonstrate the impact of several environmental and mosquito parameters (saturation deficit, presence of flowers, host seeking status, and sex) on sugar feeding. Placing sugar feeding behavior in the context of these environmental and mosquito parameters provides further insight into spatiotemporal dynamics of feeding behavior for Ae. albopictus, and in turn, provides information for evidence-based control decisions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kara Fikrig
- Entomology Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| | - Sonile Peck
- Entomology Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| | - Peter Deckerman
- Entomology Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| | - Sharon Dang
- Entomology Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| | - Kimberly St Fleur
- Entomology Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| | - Henry Goldsmith
- Entomology Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| | - Sophia Qu
- Entomology Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| | - Hannah Rosenthal
- Entomology Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| | - Laura C. Harrington
- Entomology Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
|
4
|
Blore K, Beier JC, Xue RD. Impact of Three Species of Aquatic Plants on Anopheles quadrimaculatus and its Effect on the Efficacy of Boric Acid Sugar Baits. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MOSQUITO CONTROL ASSOCIATION 2018; 34:50-52. [PMID: 31442109 DOI: 10.2987/17-6660.1] [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: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the sugar-feeding behavior of Anopheles quadrimaculatus by measuring the impact of different aquatic plants on its survival. At the same time, the potential use of boric acid in toxic sugar bait (TSB) applications to the leaves of these plants was also evaluated. Mean survival rates of mosquitoes after 120 h feeding on 3 common aquatic plant species-Thalia geniculata, Pontederia cordata, and Limnobium spongia-were 10.55%, 1.86%, and 6.21%, respectively. No significant difference in mortality between mosquitoes feeding on separate plant species was detected (P = 0.05). The TSB efficacy was evaluated by leaf dip bioassay to compare 24-h mortality of mosquitoes feeding on leaves treated with TSB formulation (1% boric acid, 10% sucrose) and leaves dipped in 10% sucrose. Mortality was significantly higher for TSB-treated leaves for T. geniculata (t = 12.5, df = 8, P < 0.0001) and P. cordata (t = 5.42, df = 8, P = 0.0006) than for L. spongia (t = 1.4003, df = 8, P = 0.199). One-way ANOVA analysis showed no significant difference in efficacy between TSB-treated leaves of the 3 plants.
Collapse
|