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Can Plasmodium’s tricks for enhancing its transmission be turned against the parasite? New hopes for vector control

Can Plasmodium’s tricks for enhancing its transmission be turned against the parasite? New hopes for vector control

Emami, S. Noushin ORCID: 0000-0001-7239-4457 , Hajkazemian, Melika ORCID: 0000-0003-1792-1829 and Mozūraitis, Emami (2020) Can Plasmodium’s tricks for enhancing its transmission be turned against the parasite? New hopes for vector control. Pathogens and Global Health, 113 (8). pp. 325-335. ISSN 2047-7724 (Print), 2047-7732 (Online) (doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/20477724.2019.1703398)

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Abstract

Approximately 120 years ago the link between mosquito and the malaria transmission was discovered. However, even today it remains an open question whether the parasite is able to direct the blood-seeking and feeding behavior of its mosquito vector to maximize the probability of transmission. If the parasite has this ability, could it occur only through the alteration of the vertebrate host’s volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and/or the parasite alteration of the behavior of the infected vector in a manner that favors its transmission? Although some recent empirical evidence supports the hypothesis regarding the parasite ability in alteration of the vertebrate host’s VOCs, the role of parasite alteration and behavioral differences between infected and uninfected female mosquitoes toward infected and uninfected hosts has not yet been considered in the implementation of control measures. This review will discuss the current evidence, which shows 1. Plasmodium can direct uninfected mosquito blood-seeking and feeding behavior via alteration of vertebrate-host odor profiles and production of phagostimulants and 2. Plasmodium also manipulates its vector during the sporogony cycle to increase transmission. Briefly, we also consider the next generation of methods for moving the empirical laboratory evidence to potential application in future integrated malaria control programs.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: plasmodium induced volatile organic compounds (VOCs), mosquito, host-seeking, phago-stimulation, vector control
Subjects: S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General)
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group: Faculty of Engineering & Science
Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute
Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute > Agriculture, Health & Environment Department
Last Modified: 25 Jan 2021 09:27
URI: http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/30926

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