Cooper, Amanda N., Malmgren, Louise, Hawkes, Frances M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0964-3702, Farrell, Iain W., Hien, Domonbabele F. d. S., Hopkins, Richard J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4935-5825, Lefèvre, Thierry and Stevenson, Philip C ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0736-3619 (2025) Identifying mosquito plant hosts from ingested nectar secondary metabolites. Scientific Reports. ISSN 2045-2322 (In Press)

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Abstract

Establishing the fundamental role plants contribute to insect ecology for food and refuge can be challenging for small insects that are difficult to observe in their natural habitat, such as disease vectoring mosquitoes. Currently the alternative methods of plant-host identification rely on DNA sequencing of ingested or attached plant material but are often unsuccessful for small insects that feed primarily on plant sugars or have little contact with plant cells. This study developed an innovative approach to determine species-specific phytophagy by detecting taxon-specific plant secondary metabolites (PSMs) in nectar. Two mosquito species were exposed to three PSMs, each present in the nectar of a known plant host, firstly from dosed sucrose solutions and secondly from flowers. Both experiments yielded high rates of PSM detection in mosquitoes using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). PSMs were consistently detected in mosquitoes up to 8 hours post-ingestion. In choice tests, mosquito feeding on multiple different host plants could be inferred. These positive results demonstrate that PSMs could be useful indicators of insect plant-hosts selection in the wild. With expanded knowledge of nectar-based PSMs across a landscape, improved knowledge of plant-host relationships could be achieved where direct observations in their natural habitat are lacking. Increasing understanding of vector insect ecology will have an important role in tackling vector-borne disease.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	plant-insect interactions, plant secondary metabolites, Culex quinquefasciatus, Anophelese coluzzii, Lantana camara, Ricinus communis, Cascabela thevetia
Subjects:	Q Science > Q Science (General) Q Science > QD Chemistry 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 > Centre for Sustainable Agriculture 4 One Health Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute > Centre for Sustainable Agriculture 4 One Health > Chemical Ecology & Plant Biochemistry
Last Modified:	03 Feb 2025 09:41
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/49609

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