| Title: | "Biological Control of the Chagas Disease Vector Triatoma infestans with the Entomopathogenic Fungus Beauveria bassiana Combined with an Aggregation Cue: Field, Laboratory and Mathematical Modeling Assessment" |
| Author(s): | Forlani L; Pedrini N; Girotti JR; Mijailovsky SJ; Cardozo RM; Gentile AG; Hernandez-Suarez CM; Rabinovich JE; Juarez MP; |
| Address: | "Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquimicas de La Plata (INIBIOLP, CONICET, CCT-La Plata, UNLP), Facultad de Ciencias Medicas, La Plata, Argentina. Instituto de Patologia Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Nacional de Salta, Salta, Argentina; Coordinacion de Gestion Epidemiologica, Ministerio de Salud Publica, Salta, Argentina. Coordinacion de Gestion Epidemiologica, Ministerio de Salud Publica, Salta, Argentina. Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Colima, Colima, Mexico. Centro de Estudios Parasitologicos y de Vectores (CEPAVE, CONICET, CCT-La Plata, UNLP), La Plata, Argentina" |
| DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pntd.0003778 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1935-2735 (Electronic) 1935-2727 (Print) 1935-2727 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "BACKGROUND: Current Chagas disease vector control strategies, based on chemical insecticide spraying, are growingly threatened by the emergence of pyrethroid-resistant Triatoma infestans populations in the Gran Chaco region of South America. METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS: We have already shown that the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana has the ability to breach the insect cuticle and is effective both against pyrethroid-susceptible and pyrethroid-resistant T. infestans, in laboratory as well as field assays. It is also known that T. infestans cuticle lipids play a major role as contact aggregation pheromones. We estimated the effectiveness of pheromone-based infection boxes containing B. bassiana spores to kill indoor bugs, and its effect on the vector population dynamics. Laboratory assays were performed to estimate the effect of fungal infection on female reproductive parameters. The effect of insect exuviae as an aggregation signal in the performance of the infection boxes was estimated both in the laboratory and in the field. We developed a stage-specific matrix model of T. infestans to describe the fungal infection effects on insect population dynamics, and to analyze the performance of the biopesticide device in vector biological control. CONCLUSIONS: The pheromone-containing infective box is a promising new tool against indoor populations of this Chagas disease vector, with the number of boxes per house being the main driver of the reduction of the total domestic bug population. This ecologically safe approach is the first proven alternative to chemical insecticides in the control of T. infestans. The advantageous reduction in vector population by delayed-action fungal biopesticides in a contained environment is here shown supported by mathematical modeling" |
| Keywords: | "Animals *Beauveria Chagas Disease/*prevention & control/transmission Chickens Cues Disease Transmission, Infectious Female Insect Control/*methods Insect Vectors Male Models, Theoretical *Pest Control, Biological Proportional Hazards Models Triatoma/*micr;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineForlani, Lucas Pedrini, Nicolas Girotti, Juan R Mijailovsky, Sergio J Cardozo, Ruben M Gentile, Alberto G Hernandez-Suarez, Carlos M Rabinovich, Jorge E Juarez, M Patricia eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2015/05/15 PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2015 May 13; 9(5):e0003778. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0003778. eCollection 2015 May" |
