The potential for fungal biopesticides to reduce malaria transmission under diverse environmental conditions
Abstract
The effectiveness of conventional malaria vector control is being threatened by the spread of insecticide resistance. One promising alternative to chemicals is the use of naturally-occurring insect-killing fungi. Numerous laboratory studies have shown that isolates of fungal pathogens such as Beauveria bassiana can infect and kill adult mosquitoes, including those resistant to chemical insecticides.Unlike chemical insecticides, fungi may take up to a week or more to kill mosquitoes following exposure. This slow kill speed can still reduce malaria transmission because the malaria parasite itself takes at least eight days to complete its development within the mosquito. However, both fungal virulence and parasite development rate are strongly temperature-dependent, so it is possible that biopesticide efficacy could vary across different transmission environments.We examined the virulence of a candidate fungal isolate against two key malaria vectors at temperatures from 10-34 °C. Regardless of temperature, the fungus killed more than 90% of exposed mosquitoes within the predicted duration of the malarial extrinsic incubation period, a result that was robust to realistic diurnal temperature variation.We then incorporated temperatur...Continue Reading
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References
Characterizing microclimate in urban malaria transmission settings: a case study from Chennai, India
Wolbachia invades Anopheles stephensi populations and induces refractoriness to Plasmodium infection
Citations
Secretomic analysis of Beauveria bassiana related to cattle tick, Rhipicephalus microplus, infection
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Antimalarial agents, also known as antimalarials, are designed to prevent or cure malaria. Discover the latest research on antimalarial agents here.
Antimalarial Agents
Antimalarial agents, also known as antimalarials, are designed to prevent or cure malaria. Discover the latest research on antimalarial agents here.