TY - JOUR
T1 - Transmission of Beauveria bassiana from male to female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes
AU - García-Munguía, Alberto M.
AU - Garza-Hernndez, Javier A.
AU - Rebollar-Tellez, Eduardo A.
AU - Rodríguez-Pérez, Mario A.
AU - Reyes-Villanueva, Filiberto
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was financially supported by Secretaría de Investigación y Posgrado-Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN)-Megaproyecto II Red Biotecnología. Filiberto Reyes-Villanueva holds a posdoctoral scholarship from Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología-México. Mario A. Rodríguez-Pérez holds a scholarship from Comisión de Operación y Fomento de Actividades Académicas (COFAA)/IPN. We thank COFAA-IPN to cover the publication fees of the present research article. Authors appreciate the kind assistance of Dr. Annabel F.V. Howard in reviewing the concepts and editing the MS. The strain Bb-CBG2 of this study was deposited at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as CBG-Bb-1 and code NRRL 50367.
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - Background: Resistance to chemical insecticides plus high morbidity rates have lead to rising interest in fungi as candidates for biocontrol agents of mosquito vectors. In most studies fungal infections have been induced by exposure of mosquitoes to various surfaces treated with conidia. In the present study eight Mexican strains of Beauveria bassiana were assessed against Aedes aegypti by direct exposure of females to 6 × 108 conidia ml -1 on a filter paper, afterwards, the transmission of the least and most virulent isolates was evaluated by mating behavior from virgin, fungus-contaminated male to females, to examine this ethological pattern as a new approach to deliver conidia against the dengue vector. Methods. In an exposure chamber with a filter paper impregnated with 6 × 108 conidia ml -1 of the least and most virulent strains of B. bassiana, 6-8 day old males of A. aegypti were exposed for 48 hours, and then transferred individually (each one was a replicate) to another chamber and confined with twenty healthy females of the same age. Clean males were used in controls. Survival, infection by true mating (insemination) or by mating attempts (no insemination) and fecundity were daily registered until the death of last female. Data analysis was conducted with proc glm for unbalanced experiments and means were separated with the Ryan test with SAS. Results: All strains were highly virulent with LT50ranging from 2.70 (±0.29) to 5.33 (±0.53) days. However the most (Bb-CBG2) and least virulent (Bb-CBG4) isolates were also transmitted by mating behavior; both killed 78-90% of females in 15 days after being confined with males that had previously been exposed for 48 hours to fungi. Of these mortality rates, 23 and 38% respectively, were infections acquired by copulations where insemination occurred. The LT 50for sexually-infected females were 7.92 (±0.46) and 8.82 (±0.45) days for both strains, while the one in control was 13.92 ( 0.58). Likewise, fecundity decreased by 95% and 60% for both Bb-CBG2 and Bb-CBG4 isolates in comparison with control. The role of mating attempts in this delivery procedure of B. bassiana is discussed. Conclusions: This is the first report about transmission of B. bassiana by mating behavior from virgin, fungus-contaminated males to females in A. aegypti. Fungal infections acquired by this route (autodissemination) infringed high mortality rates (90%) in mated or approached females. However, prior to releasing virgin, fungus-contaminated males to spread B. basasiana among females of A. aegypti, this novel alternative needs further investigations.
AB - Background: Resistance to chemical insecticides plus high morbidity rates have lead to rising interest in fungi as candidates for biocontrol agents of mosquito vectors. In most studies fungal infections have been induced by exposure of mosquitoes to various surfaces treated with conidia. In the present study eight Mexican strains of Beauveria bassiana were assessed against Aedes aegypti by direct exposure of females to 6 × 108 conidia ml -1 on a filter paper, afterwards, the transmission of the least and most virulent isolates was evaluated by mating behavior from virgin, fungus-contaminated male to females, to examine this ethological pattern as a new approach to deliver conidia against the dengue vector. Methods. In an exposure chamber with a filter paper impregnated with 6 × 108 conidia ml -1 of the least and most virulent strains of B. bassiana, 6-8 day old males of A. aegypti were exposed for 48 hours, and then transferred individually (each one was a replicate) to another chamber and confined with twenty healthy females of the same age. Clean males were used in controls. Survival, infection by true mating (insemination) or by mating attempts (no insemination) and fecundity were daily registered until the death of last female. Data analysis was conducted with proc glm for unbalanced experiments and means were separated with the Ryan test with SAS. Results: All strains were highly virulent with LT50ranging from 2.70 (±0.29) to 5.33 (±0.53) days. However the most (Bb-CBG2) and least virulent (Bb-CBG4) isolates were also transmitted by mating behavior; both killed 78-90% of females in 15 days after being confined with males that had previously been exposed for 48 hours to fungi. Of these mortality rates, 23 and 38% respectively, were infections acquired by copulations where insemination occurred. The LT 50for sexually-infected females were 7.92 (±0.46) and 8.82 (±0.45) days for both strains, while the one in control was 13.92 ( 0.58). Likewise, fecundity decreased by 95% and 60% for both Bb-CBG2 and Bb-CBG4 isolates in comparison with control. The role of mating attempts in this delivery procedure of B. bassiana is discussed. Conclusions: This is the first report about transmission of B. bassiana by mating behavior from virgin, fungus-contaminated males to females in A. aegypti. Fungal infections acquired by this route (autodissemination) infringed high mortality rates (90%) in mated or approached females. However, prior to releasing virgin, fungus-contaminated males to spread B. basasiana among females of A. aegypti, this novel alternative needs further investigations.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79951955272&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/1756-3305-4-24
DO - 10.1186/1756-3305-4-24
M3 - Artículo
C2 - 21352560
AN - SCOPUS:79951955272
SN - 1756-3305
VL - 4
JO - Parasites and Vectors
JF - Parasites and Vectors
IS - 1
M1 - 24
ER -