Larval Exposure to the Bacterial Insecticide Enhances Dengue Virus Susceptibility of Adult Mosquitoes.

Understanding the interactions between pathogens sharing the same host can be complicated for holometabolous animals when larval and adult stages are exposed to distinct pathogens. In medically important insect vectors, the effect of pathogen exposure at the larval stage may influence susceptibility to human pathogens at the adult stage. We addressed this hypothesis in the mosquito , a major vector of arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses), such as the dengue virus (DENV) and the chikungunya virus (CHIKV).

Bacterial microbiota of Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae is altered by intoxication with Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis.

Background: Insect microbiota is a dynamic microbial community that can actively participate in defense against pathogens. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a natural entomopathogen widely used as a bioinsecticide for pest control. Although Bt's mode of action has been extensively studied, whether the presence of microbiota is mandatory for Bt to effectively kill the insect is still under debate.

Receptors are affected by selection with each Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis Cry toxin but not with the full Bti mixture in Aedes aegypti.

Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) toxins are increasingly used for mosquito control, but little is known about the precise mode of action of each of these toxins, and how they interact to kill mosquito larvae. By using RNA sequencing, we investigated change in gene transcription level and polymorphism variations associated with resistance to each Bti Cry toxin and to the full Bti toxin mixture in the dengue vector Aedes aegypti. The up-regulation of genes related to chitin metabolism in all selected strain suggests a generalist, non-toxin-specific response to Bti selection in Aedes aegypti.

Alkaline phosphatases are involved in the response of Aedes aegypti larvae to intoxication with Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis Cry toxins.

Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis (Bti) is a natural pathogen of dipterans widely used as a biological insecticide for mosquito control. To characterize the response of mosquitoes to intoxication with Bti, the transcriptome profile of Bti-exposed susceptible Aedes aegypti larvae was analysed using Illumina RNA-seq.

Chemical and biological insecticides select distinct gene expression patterns in Aedes aegypti mosquito.

Worldwide evolution of mosquito resistance to chemical insecticides represents a major challenge for public health, and the future of vector control largely relies on the development of biological insecticides that can be used in combination with chemicals (integrated management), with the expectation that populations already resistant to chemicals will not become readily resistant to biological insecticides. However, little is known about the metabolic pathways affected by selection with chemical or biological insecticides. Here we show that Aedes aegypti, a laboratory mosquito strain selected with a biological insecticide (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis, Bti) evolved increased transcription of many genes coding for endopeptidases while most genes coding for detoxification enzymes were under-expressed.

Gene expression patterns and sequence polymorphisms associated with mosquito resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis toxins.

Background: Despite the intensive use of Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) toxins for mosquito control, little is known about the long term effect of exposure to this cocktail of toxins on target mosquito populations. In contrast to the many cases of resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis Cry toxins observed in other insects, there is no evidence so far for Bti resistance evolution in field mosquito populations. High fitness costs measured in a Bti selected mosquito laboratory strain suggest that evolving resistance to Bti is costly.

Pre-selecting resistance against individual Bti Cry toxins facilitates the development of resistance to the Bti toxins cocktail.

The bioinsecticide Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis is a larvicide used worldwide for mosquito control, which contains three Cry toxins and one Cyt toxin. We investigated for the first time in Aedes aegypti (1) the evolution of resistance and cross-resistance of strains selected with each Cry toxin, and (2) the effect of pre-selection with Cry toxin on the evolution of resistance to a mix of Bti toxins.

UV light and urban pollution: bad cocktail for mosquitoes?

Mosquito breeding sites consist of water pools, which can either be large open areas or highly covered ponds with vegetation, thus with different light exposures combined with the presence in water of xenobiotics including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) generated by urban pollution. UV light and PAHs are abiotic factors known to both affect the mosquito insecticide resistance status. Nonetheless, their potential combined effects on the mosquito physiology have never been investigated.

Monitoring resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis in the field by performing bioassays with each Cry toxin separately.

Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis (Bti) is increasingly used worldwide for mosquito control and is the only larvicide used in the French Rhône-Alpes region since decades. The artificial selection of mosquitoes with field-persistent Bti collected in breeding sites from this region led to a moderate level of resistance to Bti, but to relatively high levels of resistance to individual Bti Cry toxins.

Contrasting patterns of tolerance between chemical and biological insecticides in mosquitoes exposed to UV-A.

Mosquitoes are vectors of major human diseases, such as malaria, dengue or yellow fever. Because no efficient treatments or vaccines are available for most of these diseases, control measures rely mainly on reducing mosquito populations by the use of insecticides. Numerous biotic and abiotic factors are known to modulate the efficacy of insecticides used in mosquito control.

Increase in larval gut proteolytic activities and Bti resistance in the Dengue fever mosquito.

The bioinsecticide Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti) is increasingly used worldwide for mosquito control. Although no established resistance to Bti has been described in the field so far, a resistant Aedes aegypti strain (LiTOX strain) was selected in the laboratory using field-collected leaf litter containing Bti toxins.

Decreased toxicity of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis to mosquito larvae after contact with leaf litter.

Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis is a bacterium producing crystals containing Cry and Cyt proteins, which are toxic for mosquito larvae. Nothing is known about the interaction between crystal toxins and decaying leaf litter, which is a major component of several mosquito breeding sites and represents an important food source.