Beat the heat: Culex quinquefasciatus regulates its body temperature during blood feeding

Reinhold, Joanna M.; Shaw, Ryan; Lahondère, Chloé

doi:10.1016/j.jtherbio.2020.102826

Cited by 11 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…This behaviour may reflect the adaptation of S. minuta to feeding on reptiles. In mosquitoes, similar long feeding time up to 40 min has been observed in Culex territans mosquitoes, which also primarily feed on cold-blooded vertebrates [31]. Due to the prolonged feeding time, S. minuta females might regulate and concentrate the imbibed large volume of a blood meal in a gut via prediuresis and thus supposedly compensate significantly lower haemoglobin content in reptilian erythrocytes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 63%

Experimental feeding of Sergentomyia minuta on reptiles and mammals: comparison with Phlebotomus papatasi

et al. 2023

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Background Sergentomyiaminuta (Diptera: Phlebotominae) is an abundant sand fly species in the Mediterranean basin and a proven vector of reptile parasite Leishmania (Sauroleishmania) tarentolae. Although it feeds preferentially on reptiles, blood meal analyses and detection of Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum DNA in wild-caught S.minuta suggest that occasional feeding may occur on mammals, including humans. Therefore, it is currently suspected as a potential vector of human pathogens. Methods A recently established S.minuta colony was allowed to feed on three reptile species (i.e. lizard Podarcissiculus and geckos Tarentolamauritanica and Hemidactylusturcicus) and three mammal species (i.e. mouse, rabbit and human). Sand fly mortality and fecundity were studied in blood-fed females, and the results were compared with Phlebotomuspapatasi, vector of Leishmania (L.) major. Blood meal volumes were measured by haemoglobinometry. Results Sergentomyiaminuta fed readily on three reptile species tested, neglected the mouse and the rabbit but took a blood meal on human. However, the percentage of females engorged on human volunteer was low in cage (3%) and feeding on human blood resulted in extended defecation times, higher post-feeding mortality and lower fecundity. The average volumes of blood ingested by females fed on human and gecko were 0.97 µl and 1.02 µl, respectively. Phlebotomuspapatasi females readily fed on mouse, rabbit and human volunteer; a lower percentage of females (23%) took blood meal on the T.mauritanica gecko; reptilian blood increased mortality post-feeding but did not affect P.papatasi fecundity. Conclusions Anthropophilic behaviour of S.minuta was experimentally demonstrated; although sand fly females prefer reptiles as hosts, they were attracted to the human volunteer and took a relatively high volume of blood. Their feeding times were longer than in sand fly species regularly feeding on mammals and their physiological parameters suggest that S.minuta is not adapted well for digestion of mammalian blood. Nevertheless, the ability to bite humans highlights the necessity of further studies on S.minuta vector competence to elucidate its potential role in circulation of Leishmania and phleboviruses pathogenic to humans. Graphical abstract

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 63%

Experimental feeding of Sergentomyia minuta on reptiles and mammals: comparison with Phlebotomus papatasi

et al. 2023

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“…This species feeds on geckos for up 45 min to full repletion; this is enabled by the lack of defensive behaviour of reptiles bitten by this species [15]. In mosquitoes, similarly long feeding time up to 40 min has been observed in Culex territans, mosquito primarily feeding on coldblooded vertebrates [30]. On the other hand, the observed low consumption of M. migonei may re ect its ornitophilic feeding preferences [31] and fast feeding strategy may reduce a risk of active defensive behaviour of birds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Sand fly blood meal volumes and their relation to female body weight

Volfová,

Jančářová,

Volf

2024

Preprint

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Background Sand fly females took a blood meal to develop eggs. The size of the blood meal is important for the fecundity but also affects the dose of pathogens acquired by females while feeding on infected host or during experimental membrane-feeding experiments. Methods Under standard laboratory conditions we compared blood meal volumes taken by females of ten sand fly species belonging to four genera: Phlebotomus, Lutzomyia, Migonomyia and Sergentomyia. Amount of ingested blood was determined by haemoglobin assay. In addition, we weighted unfed sand flies to calculate a ratio between body weight and blood meal weight. Results The mean blood meal volume ingested by sand fly females of different species ranged from 0.47 to 1.01 µl. Five species studied, Phlebotomus papatasi, P. duboscqi, Lutzomyia longipalpis, Sergentomyia minuta and S. schwetzi took about double size blood meal in comparison to Migonomyia migonei. In females, the mean body weight ranged from 0.183 mg in S. minuta to 0.369 mg in P. duboscqi. In males, the mean body weight ranged from 0.106 mg in M. migonei to 0.242 mg in P. duboscqi. Males were always lighter than females, the ratio between sexes ranged from 75% in P. argentipes to 52% in P. tobbi. Conclusions Interspecific analysis did not reveal any correlation between mean blood meal volume/weight and the mean weight of females (Mbl/Mf). Most species took a blood meal 2.25–3.05 times higher their body weight. Relatively tiny females of P. argentipes took 3.34 times their body weight. The highest (Mbl/Mf) ratio was found in both Sergentomyia species studied; females of S. minuta and S. schwetzi took bloodmeals 4,5–5 times higher than their body weight. This parameter is substantially higher then reported for any mosquitoes and biting midges.

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“…For both of the studied species, we consistently demonstrated that under various levels of heat stress, female mosquitoes exhibited higher survival rates compared to male mosquitoes, a pattern commonly observed in arthropods (Bodlah et al, 2023; Chen et al, 2018; Weaving et al, 2022). In addition to physiological and behavioral distinctions, thermoregulatory behavior, such as engaging in evaporative cooling during the blood-feeding process to counter the rapid temperature increase, may contribute to the sex-specific difference in survival (Benoit et al, 2011; Kingsolver & Huey, 2008; Lahondère & Lazzari, 2012; Nylin & Gotthard, 1998; Reinhold et al, 2021). Furthermore, the observed phenomenon may also be influenced by the size disparity between female and male mosquitoes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal tolerance of mosquito eggs is associated with urban adaptation and human interactions

Chakraborty,

Zigmond,

Shah

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Climate change is expected to profoundly affect mosquito distributions and their ability to serve as vectors for disease, specifically with the anticipated increase in heat waves. The rising temperature and frequent heat waves can accelerate mosquito life cycles, facilitating higher disease transmission. Conversely, higher temperatures could increase mosquito mortality as a negative consequence. Warmer temperatures are associated with increased human density, suggesting a need for anthropophilic mosquitoes to adapt to be more hardy to heat stress. Mosquito eggs provide an opportunity to study the biological impact of climate warming as this stage is stationary and must tolerate temperatures at the site of female oviposition. As such, egg thermotolerance is critical for survival in a specific habitat. In nature,Aedesexhibit different behavioral phenotypes, where specific populations prefer depositing eggs in tree holes and prefer feeding non-human vertebrates. In contrast, others, particularly human-biting specialists, favor laying eggs in artificial containers near human dwellings. This study examined the thermotolerance of eggs, along with adult stages, forAedes aegyptiandAe. albopictuslineages associated with known ancestry and shifts in their relationship with humans. Mosquitoes collected from areas with higher human population density, displaying increased human preference, and having a human-associated ancestry profile have increased egg viability following high-temperature stress. Unlike eggs, thermal tolerance among adults showed no significant correlation based on the area of collection or human-associated ancestry. This study highlights that the egg stage is likely critical to mosquito survival when associated with humans and needs to be accounted when predicting future mosquito distribution.

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Beat the heat: Culex quinquefasciatus regulates its body temperature during blood feeding

Cited by 11 publications

References 56 publications

Experimental feeding of Sergentomyia minuta on reptiles and mammals: comparison with Phlebotomus papatasi

Experimental feeding of Sergentomyia minuta on reptiles and mammals: comparison with Phlebotomus papatasi

Sand fly blood meal volumes and their relation to female body weight

Thermal tolerance of mosquito eggs is associated with urban adaptation and human interactions

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