title: Malaria mosquitoes attracted by fatal fungus.
abstract: Insect-killing fungi such as Beauveria bassiana are being evaluated as possible active ingredients for use in novel biopesticides against mosquito vectors that transmit malaria. Fungal pathogens infect through contact and so applications of spores to surfaces such as walls, nets, or other resting sites provide possible routes to infect mosquitoes in and around domestic dwellings. However, some insects can detect and actively avoid fungal spores to reduce infection risk. If true for mosquitoes, such behavior could render the biopesticide approach ineffective. Here we find that the spores of B. bassiana are highly attractive to females of Anopheles stephensi, a major anopheline mosquito vector of human malaria in Asia. We further find that An. stephensi females are preferentially attracted to dead and dying caterpillars infected with B. bassiana, landing on them and subsequently becoming infected with the fungus. Females are also preferentially attracted to cloth sprayed with oil-formulated B. bassiana spores, with 95% of the attracted females becoming infected after a one-minute visit on the cloth. This is the first report of an insect being attracted to a lethal fungal pathogen. The exact mechanisms involved in this behavior remain unclear. Nonetheless, our results indicate that biopesticidal formulations comprising B. bassiana spores will be conducive to attraction and on-source visitation by malaria vectors.
authors: Department of Entomology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors: Justin
authors: J
authors: George
authors: Nina E
authors: NE
authors: Jenkins
authors: Simon
authors: S
authors: Blanford
authors: Matthew B
authors: MB
authors: Thomas
authors: Thomas C
authors: TC
authors: Baker
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000382:microbiology*; D052982:Beauveria / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D007814:Larva / Q000382:microbiology; D008288:Malaria / Q000517:prevention & control; D009036:Moths / Q000382:microbiology; D010572:Pest Control, Biological; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000502:physiology*
references: J Invertebr Pathol. 2006 Jan;91(1):43-9
references: 16376375
references: Malar J. 2011 Aug 03;10:219
references: 21812944
references: PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2012;6(8):e1793
references: 22953015
references: J Med Entomol. 2005 May;42(3):332-6
references: 15962783
references: Science. 2005 Jun 10;308(5728):1641-2
references: 15947190
references: Malar J. 2012 Mar 26;11:87
references: 22449130
references: Trends Parasitol. 2012 Nov;28(11):466-70
references: 23044288
references: J Invertebr Pathol. 2012 Sep 15;111(1):82-5
references: 22555012
references: J Insect Sci. 2004;4:19
references: 15861235
references: Annu Rev Entomol. 2001;46:667-702
references: 11112183
references: Parasit Vectors. 2010 Sep 15;3:87
references: 20843321
references: Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2008 Jun;78(6):910-6
references: 18541768
references: J Exp Biol. 2011 Mar 15;214(Pt 6):956-62
references: 21346123
references: Vet Parasitol. 2011 Dec 15;182(2-4):307-18
references: 21705145
references: J Exp Biol. 2005 Aug;208(Pt 15):2963-72
references: 16043601
references: J Insect Physiol. 2009 Sep;55(9):774-80
references: 19442668
references: PLoS One. 2011;6(8):e23591
references: 21897846
references: J Econ Entomol. 2010 Aug;103(4):1094-9
references: 20857716
references: J Econ Entomol. 2007 Feb;100(1):49-53
references: 17370808
references: Science. 2005 Jun 10;308(5728):1638-41
references: 15947189
references: Med Vet Entomol. 1996 Jul;10(3):269-76
references: 8887339
references: PLoS Biol. 2009 Apr 7;7(4):e1000058
references: 19355786
references: J Med Entomol. 2011 Mar;48(2):305-13
references: 21485366
references: Med Vet Entomol. 2010 Dec;24(4):346-51
references: 20546128
references: Nat Rev Microbiol. 2007 May;5(5):377-83
references: 17426726
references: Science. 1969 Apr 11;164(3876):184-5
references: 5774191
references: Annu Rev Entomol. 2006;51:331-57
references: 16332215
references: Malar J. 2012 Nov 22;11:383
references: 23171286
references: PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2009;3(5):e434
references: 19434231
references: Am Nat. 2009 Sep;174(3):424-33
references: 19627240
references: Annu Rev Entomol. 1999;44:131-57
references: 9990718
references: PLoS One. 2011;6(10):e25658
references: 21991329
references: Chem Senses. 2006 Nov;31(9):845-63
references: 16963500