Radiation-induced sterility for pupal and adult stages of the malaria mosquito Anopheles arabiensis

Helinski, Michelle E. H.; Parker, Andrew G.; Knols, Bart G. J.

doi:10.1186/1475-2875-5-41

Cited by 112 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…arabiensis mosquitoes were reared as described above, and batches of approximately 1000 pupae that had been quantified volumetrically in netted spoons were irradiated (20–26 h after pupation) in a 60 Co Gamma cell 220 (Nordion, Ottawa, Canada) with a dose of 70 Gy which induces partial sterility (~83%) as described by Helinski et al [27]. A dosimetry system was used to verify the dose received by the batches based on the Gafchromic HD-810 film (International Speciality Products, NJ, USA) [28].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eliminating female Anopheles arabiensis by spiking blood meals with toxicants as a sex separation method in the context of the sterile insect technique

et al. 2013

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BackgroundIvermectin has longevity reducing effects in several insect species, including disease transmitting mosquitoes after feeding on hosts that have received ivermectin treatment. This has important implications in mosquito population control and thus the reduction of disease transmission. In addition, ivermectin could play an enormous role in mosquito control operations by its use in the female elimination process during mass-rearing, enabling the release of only sterile males in the context of the sterile insect technique (SIT).MethodsBlood meals were spiked with various toxicants and were then offered to adult Anopheles arabiensis and killing effects were observed. Varying concentrations of the most effective substance were then tested in subsequent trials to obtain an optimal dose for quick and total female elimination. The remaining males were mated with untreated virgin females to assess whether their mating efficiency had been compromised. The most promising substance at the optimal concentration was further tested on a larger number of adults, after they had been irradiated and partially sterilised as pupae with 70 Gy to evaluate the feasibility of the method in a mass-rearing, and SIT context. The males resulting from the latter trial were also checked for mating efficiency post treatments.ResultsIvermectin (Virbamec®) at a concentration of 7.5 ppm was chosen from the toxicants tested as sufficiently effective in eliminating all female An. arabiensis in 4 days, the shortest time required for female elimination of all chemicals tested. Mating efficiency of the non-blood feeding male mosquitoes was not compromised significantly compared to controls even when they were kept for a total of 4 days (from emergence) before theoretical release. The irradiation treatment did not affect overall female feeding behaviour in this setting, nor were the sterile males less competitive for mating with virgin females after the treatments than virgin sterile males that had not been in the ivermectin treatment environment.ConclusionsSpiking bloodmeals with ivermectin has shown potential as a viable treatment to eliminate female An. arabiensis from laboratory colonies although its practical use in a mass-rearing facility still needs to be tested.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eliminating female Anopheles arabiensis by spiking blood meals with toxicants as a sex separation method in the context of the sterile insect technique

et al. 2013

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“…In the context of disease control there is also research being conducted on ways to reduce the vector competence of mosquitoes, such as discussed in Joardar (2005), or to develop methods based on genetics, an approach reviewed by Tu and Coates (2004) and reviewed and explored by Linser et al (2007) or to use radiation (e.g., Helinski et al 2006). If successful and adopted they would minimise the direct impact of mosquito management on wetlands.…”

Section: Mosquito Management and Its Impacts On Wetlandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wetlands and mosquitoes: a review

Dale

Knight

2008

Wetlands Ecol Manage

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This review brings together information on mosquitoes, the diseases they transmit and the wetlands that provide habitats for the immature stages (eggs and larvae). Wetland values are mentioned, though the main literature on this does not generally overlap the mosquito issue. Mosquito management is overviewed to include: the use of larvicides, source reduction in intertidal wetlands and management in freshwater systems. There is not a great deal of information on mosquitoes and freshwater systems, except for constructed wetlands and they are considered separately. We then consider restoration mainly in the context of wetlands that have been the subject of habitat modification for mosquito control. Land use and climate change, as they affect mosquitoes and the diseases they transmit, are also reviewed, as this will affect wetlands via management activities. Finally the review addresses the critical issue of balancing health, both human and environmental, in an adaptive framework. It concludes that there is a need to ensure that both mosquito and wetland management communicate and integrate to sustain wetland and human health.

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“…The sterile insect technique (SIT) has been used for decades to control several insect pest species [7]. The technique mainly uses irradiation to sterilise the insects, however this appears to cause significant fitness effects on mosquitoes that prevent its widespread use for vector control [8], [9]. The release of insects with dominant lethality (RIDL) is a new method to control insects that replaces irradiation with the insertion of a conditional lethal gene [10], [11], [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oral Ingestion of Transgenic RIDL Ae. aegypti Larvae Has No Negative Effect on Two Predator Toxorhynchites Species

et al. 2013

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Dengue is the most important mosquito-borne viral disease. No specific treatment or vaccine is currently available; traditional vector control methods can rarely achieve adequate control. Recently, the RIDL (Release of Insect carrying Dominant Lethality) approach has been developed, based on the sterile insect technique, in which genetically engineered ‘sterile’ homozygous RIDL male insects are released to mate wild females; the offspring inherit a copy of the RIDL construct and die. A RIDL strain of the dengue mosquito, Aedes aegypti, OX513A, expresses a fluorescent marker gene for identification (DsRed2) and a protein (tTAV) that causes the offspring to die. We examined whether these proteins could adversely affect predators that may feed on the insect. Aedes aegypti is a peri-domestic mosquito that typically breeds in small, rain-water-filled containers and has no specific predators. Toxorhynchites larvae feed on small aquatic organisms and are easily reared in the laboratory where they can be fed exclusively on mosquito larvae. To evaluate the effect of a predator feeding on a diet of RIDL insects, OX513A Ae. aegypti larvae were fed to two different species of Toxorhynchites (Tx. splendens and Tx. amboinensis) and effects on life table parameters of all life stages were compared to being fed on wild type larvae. No significant negative effect was observed on any life table parameter studied; this outcome and the benign nature of the expressed proteins (tTAV and DsRed2) indicate that Ae. aegypti OX513A RIDL strain is unlikely to have any adverse effects on predators in the environment.

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Radiation-induced sterility for pupal and adult stages of the malaria mosquito Anopheles arabiensis

Cited by 112 publications

References 23 publications

Eliminating female Anopheles arabiensis by spiking blood meals with toxicants as a sex separation method in the context of the sterile insect technique

Eliminating female Anopheles arabiensis by spiking blood meals with toxicants as a sex separation method in the context of the sterile insect technique

Wetlands and mosquitoes: a review

Oral Ingestion of Transgenic RIDL Ae. aegypti Larvae Has No Negative Effect on Two Predator Toxorhynchites Species

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