Abstract
BackgroundPrevious studies have demonstrated the role of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by skin microbiota in the attraction of mosquitoes to humans. Recently, behavioral experiments confirmed the importance of VOCs released by skin microbiota in the attraction of Rhodnius prolixus (Hemiptera: Triatominae), a vector of Chagas disease.Methods/FindingsIn this study, we screened for VOCs released in vitro by bacteria isolated from human facial skin that were able to elicit behavioral responses in R. prolixus. The VOCs released in vitro by eight bacterial species during two growth phases were tested with adult Rhodnius prolixus insects using a dual-choice “T”-shaped olfactometer. In addition, the VOCs released by the bacteria were analyzed with headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS). The VOCs produced by Staphylococcus capitis 11C, Staphylococcus warneri and Staphylococcus epidermidis 1 were attractive to R. prolixus, while the VOCs released by Citrobacter koseri 6P, Brevibacterium epidermidis and Micrococcus luteus 23 were non-attractive.ConclusionsThe results shown here indicate that VOCs released by bacteria isolated from human facial skin have a potential for biotechnological uses as a strategy to prevent the vectorial transmission of Chagas disease mediated by Rhodnius prolixus.
Highlights
Human skin is colonized by a wide variety of beneficial microorganisms that inhibit the growth of pathogens and promote the processing of proteins and free fatty acids on the skin [1, 2]
The results shown here indicate that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released by bacteria isolated from human facial skin have a potential for biotechnological uses as a strategy to prevent the vectorial transmission of Chagas disease mediated by Rhodnius prolixus
Our results showed that volatile organic compounds released by bacteria isolated from human faces have a potential for biotechnological uses as a strategy to control the vectorial transmission of Chagas disease mediated by Rhodnius prolixus
Summary
Human skin is colonized by a wide variety of beneficial microorganisms that inhibit the growth of pathogens and promote the processing of proteins and free fatty acids on the skin [1, 2]. The human skin microbiota play an important role in the generation of human odors [2, 4, 5]. Human odor profiles include more than 350 identified compounds [6, 7], and it has been shown that bacteria on human skin are involved in the release of approximately 150 volatile organic compounds (hereafter referred to as VOCs) [8]. Some of these VOCs released by bacteria are typically found in human odor [2]. Behavioral experiments confirmed the importance of VOCs released by skin microbiota in the attraction of Rhodnius prolixus (Hemiptera: Triatominae), a vector of Chagas disease
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