Biology subjects

Pereira, T. N.

Publications and source records attributed to Pereira, T. N..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2020

Simplified artificial blood feeding and oral infection method for mosquitoes

Mosquitoes such as Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus are vectors of many pathogens that greatly affect humankind. The maintenance of these mosquitoes in laboratory permit different studies that can help understanding their biology, as well as the vector-pathogen interaction. In addition to sugar meals, the blood feeding is essential for maintenance of the reproductive cycle in several vectors. The main blood sources for many mosquito colonies are direct feeding on live animal or the use of human/animal blood through artificial feeders. However, this latter process has some disadvantages, as artificial feeders can be very laborious for assembly and decontamination. Based on these observations, a simplified technique for feeding and artificial infection was developed with cotton-pads soaked (CS) and blood or blood and viral supernatant to simulate an artificial infection. The efficiency of the CS technique was investigated through the number of mosquitoes fed/infected, when compared to their respective control group. The CS technique, with blood at room temperature, promoted a feeding rate of 61.4% for Ae. albopictus, 70.8% for Cx. quinquefasciatus and 17% for Ae. aegypti. The control group (Hemotec-feeding) presented 47.9%, 16.5% and 59.1% of feeding success, respectively. To improve the CS technique for Ae. aegypti mosquitoes, the procedure was then performed with blood at 38{degrees}C, which was possible to observe a feeding rate of 47.3%, in comparison to 53.2% for the control group (Hemotec). When using the CS technique for artificial infection with Mayaro virus, more than 80% of infection was observed for Ae. aegypti and 100% for Ae. albopictus. In the traditional infection technique (glass feeder), the infection rate was 90% (Ae. aegypti) and 96.6% (Ae. albopictus). For Cx. quinquefasciatus, the infection was positive only with the CS technique, resulting in 1 (5%) mosquito infected with Mayaro virus. Our results suggest that this simplified technique of low-cost feeding and easy assembly, offers good results for feeding (maintenance of colonies) and artificial infection of different species of mosquitoes.

developmental biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Reduced competence to arboviruses following the sustainable invasion of Wolbachia into native Aedes aegypti from Niteroi, Southeastern Brazil

Field release of Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti has emerged as a promising solution to manage the transmission of dengue, Zika and chikungunya in endemic areas across the globe. Through an efficient self-dispersing mechanism, and the ability to induce virus-blocking properties, Wolbachia offers an unmatched potential to gradually modify wild Ae. aegypti populations turning them unsuitable disease vectors. Here in this work, a proof-of-concept field trial was carried out in a small community of Niteroi, greater Rio de Janeiro. Following the release of Wolbachia-infected eggs, we reported a successful invasion and long-term establishment of the bacterium across the territory, as denoted by stable high-infection indexes (>80%). We have also demonstrated that refractoriness to dengue and Zika viruses, either thorough oral-feeding or intra-thoracic saliva challenging assays, were maintained over the adaptation to the natural environment of Southeastern Brazil. These findings further support Wolbachias ability to invade local Ae. aegypti populations and impair disease transmission, and shall pave the way for future epidemiological and economic impact assessments.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2019

Vector competence of Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus, and Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes for Mayaro virus

Newly emerging or re-emerging arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) are important causes of human morbidity and mortality nearly worldwide. Arboviruses such as Dengue (DENV), Zika (ZIKV), Chikungunya (CHIKV) and West Nile virus (WNV) underwent an extensive geographic expansion in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. In the Americas the main vectors, for DENV, ZIKV and CHIKV, are mosquito species adapted to urban environments namely Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, whereas the main vector for WNV is the Culex quinquefasciatus. Given the widespread distribution in the Americas and high permissiveness to arbovirus infection, theses mosquito species might pose an important role in the epidemiology of other arboviruses normally associated to sylvatic vectors. Here, we test this hypothesis by determining the vector competence of Ae. aegypti, Ae. albopictus and Cx. quinquefasciatus to Mayaro (MAYV) virus, a sylvatic arbovirus transmitted mainly by Haemagogus janthinomys that have been causing an increasing number of outbreaks in South America namely in Brazil. Using field mosquitoes from Brazil, female mosquitoes were experimentally infected and their competence for dissemination and transmission for MAYV was evaluated. We found high dissemination rate for MAYV in Ae. aegypti (57.5%) and Ae. albopictus (61.6%), whereas very low rates were obtained for Cx. quinquefasciatus (2.5%). Concordantly, we observed that Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus have high transmission ability (69.5% and 71.1% respectively), conversely to Cx. quinquefasciatus that is not able to transmit the MAYV. Notably, we found that very low quantities of virus present in the saliva (undetectable by RT-qPCR) were sufficient and virulent enough to guarantee transmission. Although Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes are not the main vectors for MAYV, our studies suggest that these vectors may play a significant role in the transmission of this arbovirus, since both species showed high vector competence in laboratory conditions.\n\nAuthor summaryThe present study showed that Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes have high vector competence for MAYV, in laboratory. In contrast, Cx. quinquefasciatus mosquitoes were shown to be refractory to MAYV. Regarding the viral dilution and nanoinjection, higher detection sensitivity was observed after virus nanoinjection into naive mosquitoes, indicating that only a few viral particles are required to infect mosquitoes, and these particles may not be detected by RT-qPCR before the nanoinjection procedure.

microbiology↗