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PubMed2004

Entomopathogenic fungi for mosquito control: a review.

Fungal diseases in insects are common and widespread and can decimate their populations in spectacular epizootics. Virtually all insect orders are susceptible to fungal diseases, including Dipterans. Fungal pathogens such as Lagenidium, Coelomomyces and Culicinomyces are known to affect mosquito populations, and have been studied extensively. There are, however, many other fungi that infect and kill mosquitoes at the larval and/or adult stage. The discovery, in 1977, of the selective mosquito-pathogenic bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner israelensis (Bti) curtailed widespread interest in the search for other suitable biological control agents. In recent years interest in mosquito-killing fungi is reviving, mainly due to continuous and increasing levels of insecticide resistance and increasing global risk of mosquito-borne diseases. This review presents an update of published data on mosquito-pathogenic fungi and mosquito-pathogen interactions, covering 13 different fungal genera. Notwithstanding the potential of many fungi as mosquito control agents, only a handful have been commercialized and are marketed for use in abatement programs. We argue that entomopathogenic fungi, both new and existing ones with renewed/improved efficacies may contribute to an expansion of the limited arsenal of effective mosquito control tools, and that they may contribute in a significant and sustainable manner to the control of vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue and filariasis.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Something old, something transgenic, or something fungal for mosquito control?

In spite of the current research emphasis on the use of transgenic mosquitoes, insecticides are still the main method for controlling malarial mosquitoes. Although pyrethroids are the compounds of choice, insecticide resistance is now threatening the effective life of these invaluable compounds. Two recent studies have re-focused interest on entomopathogenic fungi as useful alternatives to conventional insecticides, suggesting that these fungi could be used as alternative control methods, which would thus also prolong the effective lifetime of pyrethroids.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1994

Some naturally occurring phytophototoxins for mosquito control.

Alpha-terthiophene (alpha-T) and erythrosin-B, the naturally occurring plant secondary metabolites, were tried for their phototoxic properties against Anopheles and Culex larvae under dark, ordinary tube light (1.9-2.4 w/m2) and sun light (680-840 w/m2). LC50 values of alpha-T for Anopheles larvae (4th instar) were found to be 154, 92 and 11 ppb under dark, tube light and sunlight, respectively. For Culex larvae corresponding LC50 values under different light conditions were 129, 97 and 22 ppb. Erythrosin-B under all photoregimens was found to be less toxic to larvae of both Anopheles and Culex sps. Also, the susceptibility of the mosquito species decreased with age, towards alpha-T and erythrosin-B. Cumulative effects in terms of delay in metamorphosis were also observed among survivors of such exposures. The effects of these compounds were also seen on the adults and developing unhatched embryos of a common aquatic snail (Lymnaea sps). The LC50 values of alpha-T for adults were found to be 39, 23 ppm and 77 ppb under dark, tube light and sunlight and for developing unhatched embryos the corresponding values were 620, 41 and 13 ppb. Erythrosin-B was found to be much less toxic under sunlight and dark, to both adults and embryos as compared to the toxicity of alpha-T. Potential use of such biodegradable and eco-friendly compounds of natural origin in mosquito control is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Evaluation of Australian Mesocyclops (Cyclopoida: Cyclopidae) for mosquito control.

Six of seven species of Mesocyclops copepods, collected from northeastern Australia, showed potential as biological control agents of Aedes mosquitoes. Methods of laboratory evaluation included predation trials at different larval mosquito densities, population growth rates at different temperatures, and laboratory cage simulations. The predation efficacy of Mesocyclops aspericornis, M. australiensis, and M. mb1 from southern Queensland, and M. darwini, M. mb2, M. notius and M. mb3 from northern Queensland were compared with M. aspericornis (used successfully in French Polynesia) against laboratory populations of Aedes aegypti (L.), Culex quinquefasciatus Say, and Anopheles farauti Laveran (No. 1). M. aspericornis (L. Kurwongbah) proved to be the most effective Queensland predator and exhibited an elevated reproductive rate at 20-25 degrees C. M. darwini was less efficient as a predator but was more fecund at 25-35 degrees C. Based on these evaluations, M. aspericornis (L. Kurwongbah) has been selected for small-scale field trials in Queensland.

Aedes↗
PubMed2003

Trypsin-modulating oostatic factor: a potential new larvicide for mosquito control.

Trypsin-modulating oostatic factor (TMOF), a mosquito decapeptide, terminates trypsin biosynthesis in the mosquito gut. The hormone is secreted from the ovary, starting 18 h after the blood meal, circulates in the hemolymph, binds to a gut receptor and stops trypsin biosynthesis by exerting a translational control on trypsin mRNA. Because of the unique primary amino acid sequence of the hormone (YDPAPPPPPP) and its stable three-dimensional conformation, TMOF is not degraded by gut proteolytic enzymes and can traverse the gut epithelial cells into the hemolymph of adults and larvae. Using this unique property, hormone fed to different species of mosquito larvae stops food digestion and causes larval mortality. To determine the shortest amino acid sequence that can bind to the gut receptor and still cause high larval mortality, 25 analogues of TMOF were synthesized and tested. The tetrapeptide (YDPA) was as effective as the decapeptide, indicating that the binding to the gut receptor is at the N-terminus of the molecule. Cloning and expressing the hormone on the coat protein of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) in Chlorella sp. and Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells and feeding the recombinant cells to mosquito larvae caused larval mortality. These results indicate that TMOF can be used as a new biorational insecticide against mosquito larvae.

Amino Acid Sequence↗