Abstract
BackgroundMosquito-borne diseases are a global health problem, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths per year. Pathogens are transmitted by mosquitoes feeding on the blood of an infected host and then feeding on a new host. Monitoring mosquito host-choice behaviour can help in many aspects of vector-borne disease control. Currently, it is possible to determine the host species and an individual human host from the blood meal of a mosquito by using genotyping to match the blood profile of local inhabitants. Epidemiological models generally assume that mosquito biting behaviour is random; however, numerous studies have shown that certain characteristics, e.g. genetic makeup and skin microbiota, make some individuals more attractive to mosquitoes than others. Analysing blood meals and illuminating host-choice behaviour will help re-evaluate and optimise disease transmission models.MethodsWe describe a new blood meal assay that identifies the sex of the person that a mosquito has bitten. The amelogenin locus (AMEL), a sex marker located on both X and Y chromosomes, was amplified by polymerase chain reaction in DNA extracted from blood-fed Aedes aegypti and Anopheles coluzzii.ResultsAMEL could be successfully amplified up to 24 h after a blood meal in 100% of An. coluzzii and 96.6% of Ae. aegypti, revealing the sex of humans that were fed on by individual mosquitoes.ConclusionsThe method described here, developed using mosquitoes fed on volunteers, can be applied to field-caught mosquitoes to determine the host species and the biological sex of human hosts on which they have blood fed. Two important vector species were tested successfully in our laboratory experiments, demonstrating the potential of this technique to improve epidemiological models of vector-borne diseases. This viable and low-cost approach has the capacity to improve our understanding of vector-borne disease transmission, specifically gender differences in exposure and attractiveness to mosquitoes. The data gathered from field studies using our method can be used to shape new transmission models and aid in the implementation of more effective and targeted vector control strategies by enabling a better understanding of the drivers of vector-host interactions.Graphical
Highlights
Mosquito-borne diseases are a global health problem, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths per year
Blood digestion Blood meal digestion was assessed using Sella scores, a method adapted from Detinova [42], which cover a range from 2 to 7 [42]
Sex determination using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) The primers chosen for the amelogenin locus can amplify AMELX (NC_000023.11) and AMELY (NC_000024.10) simultaneously
Summary
Mosquito-borne diseases are a global health problem, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths per year. Monitoring mosquito host-choice behaviour can help in many aspects of vector-borne disease control. Mosquito-borne diseases are a global health problem, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths each year [1,2,3]. Recent outbreaks of Zika virus, transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, have been linked to an increase in the numbers of children born with microcephaly or other birth defects [5]. Mosquitoes need to take a blood meal, or probe, at least twice to transmit pathogens, making their blood-feeding behaviour of interest in epidemiological research. Better control strategies are required for all medically important mosquito vector species, as insecticide resistance is increasing in both Ae. aegypti [9] and Anopheles spp. Monitoring mosquito biting behaviour is vital to improve detection and prediction of the spread of vector-borne diseases [11]
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