Insecticide-induced leg loss does not eliminate biting and reproduction in Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes

Isaacs, Alison ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2452-3338, Lynd, Amy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6054-0525 and Donnelly, Martin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5218-1497 (2017) 'Insecticide-induced leg loss does not eliminate biting and reproduction in Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes'. Scientific Reports, Vol 7, e46674.

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Abstract

Recent successes in malaria control have been largely attributable to the deployment of insecticide-based vector control tools such as bed nets and indoor residual spraying. Pyrethroid-treated bed nets are acutely neurotoxic to mosquitoes, inducing symptoms such as loss of coordination, paralysis, and violent spasms. One result of pyrethroid exposure often seen in laboratory tests is mosquito leg loss, a condition that has thus far been assumed to equate to mortality, as females are not expected to blood feed. However, whilst limb loss is unlikely to be adaptive, females with missing limbs may play a role in the propagation of both their species and pathogens. To test the hypothesis that leg loss inhibits mosquitoes from biting and reproducing, mosquitoes with one, two, or six legs were evaluated for their success in feeding upon a human. These experiments demonstrated that insecticide-induced leg loss had no significant effect upon blood feeding or egg laying success. We conclude that studies of pyrethroid efficacy should not discount mosquitoes that survive insecticide exposure with fewer than six legs, as they may still be capable of biting humans, reproducing, and contributing to malaria transmission.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	QX Parasitology > Insects. Other Parasites > QX 510 Mosquitoes QX Parasitology > Insects. Other Parasites > QX 515 Anopheles QX Parasitology > Insects. Other Parasites > QX 600 Insect control. Tick control WA Public Health > Preventive Medicine > WA 240 Disinfection. Disinfestation. Pesticides (including diseases caused by) WC Communicable Diseases > Tropical and Parasitic Diseases > WC 750 Malaria WC Communicable Diseases > Tropical and Parasitic Diseases > WC 765 Prevention and control
Faculty: Department:	Biological Sciences > Vector Biology Department
Digital Object Identifer (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1038/srep46674
Depositing User:	Lynn Roberts-Maloney
Date Deposited:	03 May 2017 10:34
Last Modified:	16 Sep 2019 09:17
URI:	https://archive.lstmed.ac.uk/id/eprint/7074

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