Bloodmeal regulation in mosquitoes curtails dehydration-induced mortality, altering vectorial capacity

[Display omitted] •C. pipiens and A. aegypti mitigate dehydration via water content from a bloodmeal.•Dehydration stress prompts post-bloodfeeding alterations in oviposition, survival.•Differential bloodmeal acquisition and regulation can increase vectorial capacity. Mosquitoes readily lose water wh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of insect physiology 2022-02, Vol.137, p.104363-104363, Article 104363
Main Authors: Holmes, Christopher J., Brown, Elliott S., Sharma, Dhriti, Nguyen, Quynh, Spangler, Austin A., Pathak, Atit, Payton, Blaine, Warden, Matthew, Shah, Ashay J., Shaw, Samantha, Benoit, Joshua B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aedes - physiology
Aedes aegypti
Animals
Bloodfeeding
Culex - physiology
Culex pipiens
Dehydration
Mosquito Vectors - physiology
Reproduction
Survival
Vectorial capacity
West Nile virus
Zika Virus
Zika Virus Infection
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Summary:[Display omitted] •C. pipiens and A. aegypti mitigate dehydration via water content from a bloodmeal.•Dehydration stress prompts post-bloodfeeding alterations in oviposition, survival.•Differential bloodmeal acquisition and regulation can increase vectorial capacity. Mosquitoes readily lose water when exposed to any humidity less than that of near saturated air unless mitigated, leading to shifts in behavior, survival, distribution, and reproduction. In this study, we conducted a series of physiological experiments on two prominent species in the Culicinae subfamily: Culex pipiens, a vector of West Nile virus, and Aedes aegypti, a vector of yellow fever and Zika to examine the effects of dehydration. We exposed C. pipiens and A. aegypti to non-dehydrating conditions (saturated air), dehydrating conditions (air at a 0.89 kPa saturation vapor pressure deficit), several recovery conditions, as well as to bloodfeeding opportunities. We show that dehydrated mosquitoes increase bloodfeeding propensity, improve retention, and decrease excretion of a post-dehydration bloodmeal. In addition, mosquitoes that take a bloodmeal prior to dehydration exposure show increased survival over non-bloodfed counterparts. Dehydration-induced alterations in survival, reproduction, and bloodfeeding propensity of C. pipiens and A. aegypti resulted in marked changes to vectorial capacity. Ultimately, these results become increasingly important as drought intensifies in association with climate change and mosquitoes become more likely to experience arid periods.
ISSN:0022-1910
1879-1611
1879-1611
DOI:10.1016/j.jinsphys.2022.104363