Attraction of Female Aedes aegypti (L.) to Aphid Honeydew

Anthropophilic female mosquitoes are well known for their strong attraction to human hosts, but plant nectar is a common energy source in their diets. When sugar sources are scarce, female mosquitoes of some species can compensate by taking larger and more frequent blood meals. Male mosquitoes are exclusively dependent on plant nectar or alternative sugar sources. Plant preference is likely driven by an innate attraction that may be enhanced by experience, as mosquitoes learn to recognize available sugar rewards. Nectar-seeking involves the integration of at least three sensory systems: olfaction, vision and taste. The prevention of vector-borne illnesses, the determination of the mosquitoes' ecological role, and the design of efficient sugar-baited traps will all benefit from understanding the molecular basis of nectar-seeking. Plant Nectar Is a Common Nutrition Source across Mosquito SpeciesNectar-feeding constitutes an important source of nutrition for adult mosquitoes of both sexes, particularly males, which feed exclusively from plant nectar and require frequent sugar intake for survival [1,2]. This behavior is often underappreciated when compared with blood-feeding because it is during the latter that transmission of pathogens can occur. A few mosquito genera feed solely from plant sources [3], while in hematophagous (see Glossary) species, females consume sugar sources as well as blood. If deprived of sugar, males typically die within 4 days of eclosion [4]. Moreover, lacking the energy reserves needed for flying and copulation that come from a sugar meal, males are unlikely to achieve reproductive success [1]. Although females are less susceptible to rapid mortality caused by sugar deprivation, their survival rate and fecundity can be compromised by reduced energy reserves [1,4]. The sensory cues that enable nectar-feeding include odors [1,2], tastants [5], and visual stimuli [6,7], but the molecular mechanisms of how these cues are perceived, as well as their relative contribution to the detection of a nectar source, are poorly understood (Figure 1). This review highlights the role of sugar feeding in the life cycle of mosquitoes, the plant sources they prefer, the volatiles that attract them, and the contribution of vision, olfaction, and gustation to this behavior.

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“…Ae. aegypti females are attracted to plants infested with aphids, which produce honeydew after consuming plant sap [45]. As expected, An.…”

Section: Non-flower Sugar Sourcessupporting

confidence: 78%

Not Just from Blood: Mosquito Nutrient Acquisition from Nectar Sources

Barredo

DeGennaro

2020

Trends in Parasitology

116

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“…Airflow in each arm was 100 ml/min and the odour were located at the end of each olfactometer arm. This was similar to the setup used by Peach et al (2019).…”

Section: Olfactometer Bioassaymentioning

confidence: 90%

Behavioural and Electrophysiological Responses of Female Anopheles gambiae Mosquitoes to Volatiles from a Mango Bait

et al. 2020

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Attractive Toxic Sugar Baits (ATSB) are used in a "lure-and-kill" approach for management of the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae, but the active chemicals were previously unknown. Here we collected volatiles from a mango, Mangifera indica, juice bait which is used in ATSBs in Tanzania and tested mosquito responses. In a Y-tube olfactometer, female mosquitoes were attracted to the mango volatiles collected 24-48 h, 48-72 h and 72-96 h after preparing the bait but volatiles collected at 96-120 h were no longer attractive. Volatile analysis revealed emission of 23 compounds in different chemical classes including alcohols, aldehydes, alkanes, benzenoids, monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and oxygenated terpenes. Coupled GC-electroantennogram (GC-EAG) recordings from the antennae of An. gambiae showed robust responses to 4 compounds: humulene, (E)-caryophyllene, terpinolene and myrcene. In olfactometer bioassays, mosquitoes were attracted to humulene and terpinolene. (E)-caryophyllene was marginally attractive while myrcene elicited an avoidance response with female mosquitoes. A blend of humulene, (E)caryophyllene and terpinolene was highly attractive to females (P < 0.001) when tested against a solvent blank. Furthermore, there was no preference when this synthetic blend was offered as a choice against the natural sample. Our study has identified the key compounds from mango juice baits that attract An. gambiae and this information may help to improve the ATSBs currently used against malaria vectors.

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“…Moreover, semiochemicals from Psychrobacter immobilis, Sphingobacterium multivorum, Bacillus spp., Pseudomonas spp., Klebsiella spp., and others help mosquitoes locate suitable oviposition sites [42,44]. Finally, semiochemicals emitted from microbes colonizing aphid honeydew [36], or present in floral nectar [this study], attract sugar-foraging mosquitoes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…This implies that the presence and composition of specific microbial odorants could inform mosquitoes about the availability of particular nutrients such as carbohydrates and amino acids. Lachancea thermotolerans grown in synthetic nectar broth produced appreciable amounts of CO2, which plays a significant role during both nectar-and host-foraging by mosquitoes [36].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Microbe-derived odorants have not yet been implicated in mosquito nectar-foraging but are exploited by mosquitoes in a variety of other contexts. For example, the odor bouquet of microbe-inoculated or infested aphid honeydew is more attractive to the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, than the odor bouquet of sterilized honeydew [36]. The volatile semiochemicals emitted by human skin microbes help attract host-seeking mosquitoes [37][38][39].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nectar-dwelling microbes of common tansy are attractive to its mosquito pollinator,Culex pipiensL

Peach

Carroll

Meraj

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: There is widespread interkingdom signalling between insects and microbes. For example, microbes found in floral nectar may modify its nutritional composition and produce odorants that alter the floral odor bouquet which may attract insect pollinators. Mosquitoes consume nectar and can pollinate flowers. We identified microbes isolated from nectar of common tansy, Tanacetum vulgare, elucidated the microbial odorants, and tested their ability to attract the common house mosquito, Culex pipiens. Results: We collected 18 microbial isolates from T. vulgare nectar, representing at least 12 different taxa which we identified with 16S or 26S rDNA sequencing as well as by biochemical and physiological tests. Three microorganisms (Lachancea thermotolerans, Micrococcus lactis, Micrococcus luteus) were grown on culture medium and tested in bioassays. Only the yeast L. thermotolerans grown on nectar, malt extract agar, or in synthetic nectar broth significantly attracted C. pipiens females. The odorant profile produced by L. thermotolerans varied with the nutritional composition of the culture medium. Surprisingly, all three microbes grown separately, but presented concurrently, attracted fewer C. pipiens females than L. thermotolerans by itself. Conclusions: Floral nectar of T. vulgare contains various microbes whose odorants contribute to the odor profile of inflorescences. In addition, L. thermotolerans produced odorants that attract Cx. pipiens females. As the odor profile of L. thermotolerans varied with the composition of the culture medium, we hypothesize that microbe odorants inform nectar-foraging mosquitoes about the availability of certain macro-nutrients which, in turn, affect foraging decisions by mosquitoes.

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Attraction of Female Aedes aegypti (L.) to Aphid Honeydew

Cited by 28 publications

References 66 publications

Not Just from Blood: Mosquito Nutrient Acquisition from Nectar Sources

Not Just from Blood: Mosquito Nutrient Acquisition from Nectar Sources

Behavioural and Electrophysiological Responses of Female Anopheles gambiae Mosquitoes to Volatiles from a Mango Bait

Nectar-dwelling microbes of common tansy are attractive to its mosquito pollinator,Culex pipiensL

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