Dataset Information

Discovery and exploitation of a natural ecological trap for a mosquito disease vector.

ABSTRACT: Ecological traps occur due to a mismatch between a habitat's attractiveness and quality, wherein organisms show preference for low-quality habitats over other available high-quality habitats. Our previous research identified leaf litter from common blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis) as a natural ecological trap for an important vector for West Nile virus (Culex pipiens), attracting mosquitoes to oviposit in habitats deleterious to the survival of their larvae. Here we demonstrate that manipulation of leaf litter in stormwater catch basins, an important source of disease vector mosquitoes in urban environments, can increase Cx. pipiens oviposition but reduce survival. In a series of experiments designed to elucidate the mechanisms that explain the attractive and lethal properties of this native plant, behavioural bioassays suggest that oviposition site selection by Cx. pipiens is mediated primarily by chemical cues as leaves decompose. However, we also show that juvenile mosquito survival is mainly related to the suitability of the bacterial community in the aquatic habitat for mosquito nutritional needs, which does not appear to create a cue that influences oviposition choice. This mismatch between oviposition cues and drivers of larval habitat quality may account for the ecological trap phenomenon detected in this study. Our findings provide new insights into potential mechanistic pathways by which ecological traps may occur in nature and proof-of-concept for a new 'attract-and-kill' tool for mosquito control.

SUBMITTER: Gardner AM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6253377 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Discovery and exploitation of a natural ecological trap for a mosquito disease vector.

Gardner Allison M AM Muturi Ephantus J EJ Allan Brian F BF

Proceedings. Biological sciences 20181121 1891

Ecological traps occur due to a mismatch between a habitat's attractiveness and quality, wherein organisms show preference for low-quality habitats over other available high-quality habitats. Our previous research identified leaf litter from common blackberry (<i>Rubus allegheniensis</i>) as a natural ecological trap for an important vector for West Nile virus (<i>Culex pipiens</i>), attracting mosquitoes to oviposit in habitats deleterious to the survival of their larvae. Here we demonstrate th ...[more]

PMID: 30464065

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Project description:Despite substantial progress in mosquito genomic and genetic research, few cis-regulatory elements (CREs), DNA sequences that control gene expression, have been identified in mosquitoes or other non-model insects. Formaldehyde-assisted isolation of regulatory elements paired with DNA sequencing, FAIRE-seq, is emerging as a powerful new high-throughput tool for global CRE discovery. FAIRE results in the preferential recovery of open chromatin DNA fragments that are not bound by nucleosomes, an evolutionarily conserved indicator of regulatory activity, which are then sequenced. Despite the power of the approach, FAIRE-seq has not yet been applied to the study of non-model insects. In this investigation, we utilized FAIRE-seq to profile open chromatin and identify likely regulatory elements throughout the genome of the human disease vector mosquito Aedes aegypti. We then assessed genetic variation in the regulatory elements of dengue virus susceptible (Moyo-S) and refractory (Moyo-R) mosquito strains.Analysis of sequence data obtained through next generation sequencing of FAIRE DNA isolated from A. aegypti embryos revealed >121,000 FAIRE peaks (FPs), many of which clustered in the 1 kb 5' upstream flanking regions of genes known to be expressed at this stage. As expected, known transcription factor consensus binding sites were enriched in the FPs, and of these FoxA1, Hunchback, Gfi, Klf4, MYB/ph3 and Sox9 are most predominant. All of the elements tested in vivo were confirmed to drive gene expression in transgenic Drosophila reporter assays. Of the >13,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) recently identified in dengue virus-susceptible and refractory mosquito strains, 3365 were found to map to FPs.FAIRE-seq analysis of open chromatin in A. aegypti permitted genome-wide discovery of CREs. The results of this investigation indicate that FAIRE-seq is a powerful tool for identification of regulatory DNA in the genomes of non-model organisms, including human disease vector mosquitoes.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Drylands, which are among the biosphere's most naturally limiting and environmentally variable ecosystems, constitute three-quarters of the African continent. As a result, environmental sustainability and human development along with vector-borne disease (VBD) control historically have been especially challenging in Africa, particularly in the sub-Saharan and Sahelian drylands. Here, the VBD burden, food insecurity, environmental degradation, and social vulnerability are particularly severe. Changing climate can exacerbate the legion of environmental health threats in Africa, the social dimensions of which are now part of the international development agenda. Accordingly, the need to better understand the dynamics and complex coupling of populations and environments as exemplified by drylands is increasingly recognized as critical to the design of more sustainable interventions. MAIN BODY:This scoping review examines the challenge of vector-borne disease control in drylands with a focus on Africa, and the dramatic, ongoing environmental and social changes taking place. Dryland societies persisted and even flourished in the past despite changing climates, extreme and unpredictable weather, and marginal conditions for agriculture. Yet intrusive forces largely out of the control of traditional dryland societies, along with the negative impacts of globalization, have contributed to the erosion of dryland's cultural and natural resources. This has led to the loss of resilience underlying the adaptive capacity formerly widely exhibited among dryland societies. A growing body of evidence from studies of environmental and natural resource management demonstrates how, in light of dryland system's inherent complexity, these factors and top-down interventions can impede sustainable development and vector-borne disease control. Strengthening adaptive capacity through community-based, participatory methods that build on local knowledge and are tailored to local ecological conditions, hold the best promise of reversing current trends. CONCLUSIONS:A significant opportunity exists to simultaneously address the increasing threat of vector-borne diseases and climate change through methods aimed at strengthening adaptive capacity. The integrative framework and methods based on social-ecological systems and resilience theory offers a novel set of tools that allow multiple threats and sources of vulnerability to be addressed in combination. Integration of recent advances in vector borne disease ecology and wider deployment of these tools could help reverse the negative social and environmental trends currently seen in African drylands.

Dataset Information

Discovery and exploitation of a natural ecological trap for a mosquito disease vector.

Publications

Discovery and exploitation of a natural ecological trap for a mosquito disease vector.

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