| Title: | Modelling Sand Fly Lutzomyia longipalpis Attraction to Host Odour: Synthetic Sex-Aggregation Pheromone Dominates the Response |
| Author(s): | Retkute R; Dilger E; Hamilton JGC; Keeling MJ; Courtenay O; |
| Address: | "The Zeeman Institute for Systems Biology and Infectious Disease Epidemiology Research (SBIDER), The University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK. Epidemiology and Modelling Group, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EA, UK. School of Life Sciences, The University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK. Division of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancashire LA1 4YG, UK" |
| DOI: | 10.3390/microorganisms9030602 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 2076-2607 (Print) 2076-2607 (Electronic) 2076-2607 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Zoontic visceral leishmaniasis (ZVL) due to Leishmania infantum is a potentially fatal protozoan parasitic disease of humans and dogs. In the Americas, dogs are the reservoir and the sand fly, Lutzomyia longipalpis, the principal vector. A synthetic version of the male sand fly produced sex-aggregation pheromone attracts both female and male conspecifics to co-located insecticide, reducing both reservoir infection and vector abundance. However the effect of the synthetic pheromone on the vector's 'choice' of host (human, animal reservoir, or dead-end host) for blood feeding in the presence of the pheromone is less well understood. In this study, we developed a modelling framework to allow us to predict the relative attractiveness of the synthetic pheromone and potential alterations in host choice. Our analysis indicates that the synthetic pheromone can attract 53% (95% CIs: 39%-86%) of host-seeking female Lu. longipalpis and thus it out-competes competing host odours. Importantly, the results suggest that the synthetic pheromone can lure vectors away from humans and dogs, such that when co-located with insecticide, it provides protection against transmission leading to human and canine ZVL" |
| Keywords: | Leishmania Lutzomyia longipalpis disease prevention host choice sex-aggregation pheromone vector biology; |
| Notes: | "PubMed-not-MEDLINERetkute, Renata Dilger, Erin Hamilton, James G C Keeling, Matt J Courtenay, Orin eng WT091689MF/WT_/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom Switzerland 2021/04/04 Microorganisms. 2021 Mar 15; 9(3):602. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms9030602" |
