Plasmodium metabolite HMBPP stimulates feeding of main mosquito vectors on blood and artificial toxic sources

  • Commun Biol. 2021 Oct 7;4(1):1161. doi: 10.1038/s42003-021-02689-8.
Viktoria E Stromsky  #  1 ,  Melika Hajkazemian  #  1 ,  Elizabeth Vaisbourd  1 ,  Raimondas Mozūraitis  2  3 ,  S Noushin Emami  4  5  6
Affiliations
  • 1. Department of Molecular Biosciences, Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
  • 2. Laboratory of Chemical and Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology, Nature Research Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania.
  • 3. Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
  • 4. Department of Molecular Biosciences, Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden. [email protected].
  • 5. Molecular Attraction AB, Elektravägen 10, 126 30 Hägersten, Stockholm, Sweden. [email protected].
  • 6. Natural Resources Institute, FES, University of Greenwich, London, UK. [email protected].
  • # Contributed equally.
PMID: 34620990 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02689-8
Abstract

Recent data show that parasites manipulate the physiology of mosquitoes and human hosts to increase the probability of transmission. Here, we investigate phagostimulant activity of Plasmodium-metabolite, (E)-4-hydroxy-3-methyl-but-2-enyl pyrophosphate (HMBPP), in the primary vectors of multiple human diseases, Anopheles coluzzii, An. arabiensis, An. gambiae s.s., Aedes aegypti, and Culex pipiens/Culex torrentium complex species. The addition of 10 µM HMBPP to blood meals significantly increased feeding in all the species investigated. Moreover, HMBPP also exhibited a phagostimulant property in plant-based-artificial-feeding-solution made of beetroot juice adjusted to neutral pH similar to that of blood. The addition of AlbuMAXTM as a lipid/protein source significantly improved the feeding rate of An. gambiae s.l. females providing optimised plant-based-artificial-feeding-solution for delivery toxins to control vector populations. Among natural and synthetic toxins tested, only fipronil sulfone did not reduce feeding. Overall, the toxic-plant-based-artificial-feeding-solution showed potential as an effector in environmentally friendly vector-control strategies.

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