Volatile Cues Influence Host-Choice in Arthropod Pests

Abstract

Many arthropod pests of humans and other animals select their preferred hosts by recognising volatile odour compounds contained in the hosts’ ‘volatilome’. Although there is prolific literature on chemical emissions from humans, published data on volatiles and vector attraction in other species are more sporadic. Despite several decades since the identification of a small number of critical volatiles underpinning specific host–vector relationships, synthetic chemicals or mixtures still largely fail to reproduce the attractiveness of natural hosts to their disease vectors. This review documents allelochemicals from non-human terrestrial animals and considers where challenges in collection and analysis have left shortfalls in animal volatilome research. A total of 1287 volatile organic compounds were identified from 141 species. Despite comparable diversity of entities in each compound class, no specific chemical is ubiquitous in all species reviewed, and over half are reported as unique to a single species. This review provides a rationale for future enquiries by highlighting research gaps, such as disregard for the contribution of breath volatiles to the whole animal volatilome and evaluating the role of allomones as vector deterrents. New opportunities to improve vector surveillance and disrupt disease transmission may be unveiled by understanding the host-associated stimuli that drive vector-host interactions.

Effects of cattle on vector-borne disease risk to humans: A systematic review

“…Clearly the mere presence of cattle may not always be sufficient to protect humans from malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Cattle may attract more vectors (108), and they can increase local abundance of specific vectors causing both cattle and human VBDs such as tick-borne pathogens, malaria and leishmaniasis. We observed this mechanism within our included studies 18 times.…”

Perspectives on Odor-Based Control of Tsetse Flies in Africa

“…Isolation and characterization of the fermented urine identified a phenolic blend (phenol, 3-and 4cresols, 3-and 4-ethylphenols and 3-and 4-n-propylphenols) and specific combination of 4-cresol and 3-n-propyl phenol, as key attractants of the flies in the urine (Hassanali et al, 1986;Owaga et al, 1988). Further studies established that the release of phenols (4-methylphenol and 3-n-propylphenol) from pro-attractant derivatives was facilitated by microbiota (Poldy, 2020). These components were subsequently formulated into the 1:4:8 blend of the 3-n-propylphenol (P), octanol (O), and p-cresol (C), together with separately released acetone (A) (collectively referred to as POCA) that had enhanced attraction to G. m. morsitans or G. pallidipes (Owaga et al, 1988;IAEA, 2003;Rayaisse et al, 2010).…”

Microbially Mediated Chemical Ecology of Animals: A Review of Its Role in Conspecific Communication, Parasitism and Predation

“…Further examples of symbiotic bacteria indirectly mediating host detection by enemies come from research on host preference by mosquitoes and related ectoparasites [ 77 ]. Although parasites may directly induce behavioral changes in their hosts that are aimed at increasing parasite transmission [ 78 ], preferences by mosquitoes toward odors of already parasitized hosts are likely mediated by changes in host microbiotas [ 79 , 80 ]. Hematophagous insects acting as vectors of human diseases (e.g., malaria, yellow fever, dengue) [ 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 ] might exemplify this possibility.…”