The potential for fungal biopesticides to reduce malaria transmission under diverse environmental conditions

The Journal of Applied Ecology
Rebecca L HeinigMatthew B Thomas

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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Citations

Oct 27, 2018·Folia Microbiologica·Lucélia SantiWalter O Beys-da-Silva
Feb 3, 2018·BioControl : Journal of the International Organization for Biological Control·Matthew B Thomas
Jan 9, 2020·BMC Public Health·Scott Greenhalgh, Veda Chandwani
Apr 11, 2018·Evolutionary Applications·Eleanore D Sternberg, Matthew B Thomas
Jul 3, 2019·Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology·P TawidianK Michel

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