Fiona Teltscher1, Sophie Bouvaine2, Gabriella Gibson2, Paul Dyer3, Jennifer Guest4, Stephen Young2, Richard J Hopkins2. 1. Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, Kent, ME4 4TB, UK. f.teltscher@greenwich.ac.uk. 2. Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, Kent, ME4 4TB, UK. 3. Anglia Ruskin University, East Road, Cambridge, CB1 1PT, UK. 4. Home Office, Lunar House, 40 Wellesley Road, Croydon, CR9 2BY, UK.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Mosquito-borne diseases are a global health problem, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths per year. Pathogens are transmitted by mosquitoes feeding on the blood of an infected host and then feeding on a new host. Monitoring mosquito host-choice behaviour can help in many aspects of vector-borne disease control. Currently, it is possible to determine the host species and an individual human host from the blood meal of a mosquito by using genotyping to match the blood profile of local inhabitants. Epidemiological models generally assume that mosquito biting behaviour is random; however, numerous studies have shown that certain characteristics, e.g. genetic makeup and skin microbiota, make some individuals more attractive to mosquitoes than others. Analysing blood meals and illuminating host-choice behaviour will help re-evaluate and optimise disease transmission models. METHODS: We describe a new blood meal assay that identifies the sex of the person that a mosquito has bitten. The amelogenin locus (AMEL), a sex marker located on both X and Y chromosomes, was amplified by polymerase chain reaction in DNA extracted from blood-fed Aedes aegypti and Anopheles coluzzii. RESULTS: AMEL could be successfully amplified up to 24 h after a blood meal in 100% of An. coluzzii and 96.6% of Ae. aegypti, revealing the sex of humans that were fed on by individual mosquitoes. CONCLUSIONS: The method described here, developed using mosquitoes fed on volunteers, can be applied to field-caught mosquitoes to determine the host species and the biological sex of human hosts on which they have blood fed. Two important vector species were tested successfully in our laboratory experiments, demonstrating the potential of this technique to improve epidemiological models of vector-borne diseases. This viable and low-cost approach has the capacity to improve our understanding of vector-borne disease transmission, specifically gender differences in exposure and attractiveness to mosquitoes. The data gathered from field studies using our method can be used to shape new transmission models and aid in the implementation of more effective and targeted vector control strategies by enabling a better understanding of the drivers of vector-host interactions.
BACKGROUND: Mosquito-borne diseases are a global health problem, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths per year. Pathogens are transmitted by mosquitoes feeding on the blood of an infected host and then feeding on a new host. Monitoring mosquito host-choice behaviour can help in many aspects of vector-borne disease control. Currently, it is possible to determine the host species and an individual human host from the blood meal of a mosquito by using genotyping to match the blood profile of local inhabitants. Epidemiological models generally assume that mosquito biting behaviour is random; however, numerous studies have shown that certain characteristics, e.g. genetic makeup and skin microbiota, make some individuals more attractive to mosquitoes than others. Analysing blood meals and illuminating host-choice behaviour will help re-evaluate and optimise disease transmission models. METHODS: We describe a new blood meal assay that identifies the sex of the person that a mosquito has bitten. The amelogenin locus (AMEL), a sex marker located on both X and Y chromosomes, was amplified by polymerase chain reaction in DNA extracted from blood-fed Aedes aegypti and Anopheles coluzzii. RESULTS: AMEL could be successfully amplified up to 24 h after a blood meal in 100% of An. coluzzii and 96.6% of Ae. aegypti, revealing the sex of humans that were fed on by individual mosquitoes. CONCLUSIONS: The method described here, developed using mosquitoes fed on volunteers, can be applied to field-caught mosquitoes to determine the host species and the biological sex of human hosts on which they have blood fed. Two important vector species were tested successfully in our laboratory experiments, demonstrating the potential of this technique to improve epidemiological models of vector-borne diseases. This viable and low-cost approach has the capacity to improve our understanding of vector-borne disease transmission, specifically gender differences in exposure and attractiveness to mosquitoes. The data gathered from field studies using our method can be used to shape new transmission models and aid in the implementation of more effective and targeted vector control strategies by enabling a better understanding of the drivers of vector-host interactions.
Authors: Estelita Pereira Lima; Marcelo Henrique Santos Paiva; Ana Paula de Araújo; Ellyda Vanessa Gomes da Silva; Ulisses Mariano da Silva; Lúcia Nogueira de Oliveira; Antonio Euzébio G Santana; Clarisse Nogueira Barbosa; Clovis C de Paiva Neto; Marilia O F Goulart; Craig Stephen Wilding; Constância Flávia Junqueira Ayres; Maria Alice V de Melo Santos Journal: Parasit Vectors Date: 2011-01-12 Impact factor: 3.876
Authors: Oliver J Brady; Aaron Osgood-Zimmerman; Nicholas J Kassebaum; Sarah E Ray; Valdelaine E M de Araújo; Aglaêr A da Nóbrega; Livia C V Frutuoso; Roberto C R Lecca; Antony Stevens; Bruno Zoca de Oliveira; José M de Lima; Isaac I Bogoch; Philippe Mayaud; Thomas Jaenisch; Ali H Mokdad; Christopher J L Murray; Simon I Hay; Robert C Reiner; Fatima Marinho Journal: PLoS Med Date: 2019-03-05 Impact factor: 11.069