Guerin, Patrick

2018, Frei, Jérôme, Guerin, Patrick

La vie adulte des moustiques est marquée par la répétition de séquences comportementales incluant: la recherche d’un partenaire sexuel, la recherche de ressources (repas sanguin sur un hôte ou sucre d’origine végétale) et la recherche d’un site de ponte ; ces séquences comportementales étant intercalées de périodes plus ou moins longues de repos. L’entreprise de l’un ou l’autre de ces comportements typiques est influencée par des facteurs aussi bien internes (comme par exemple le bagage génétique ou l’état physiologique) qu’externes (comme les conditions environnementales ou les signaux émis par l’hôte). Dans ce contexte, le principal vecteur de la malaria, Anopheles gambiae Giles (An. gambiae), se distingue d’autres moustiques en plusieurs points : il commence sa vie adulte avec peu de réserves métaboliques, il concentre ses repas sanguins et doit souvent même les multiplier, afin de pouvoir pondre. Ce moustique est endophage, endophile et démontre un comportement anthropophile (préférence à piquer des êtres humains à par rapport à d’autres vertébrés) dicté principalement par la signature olfactive de l’homme. Dans cette thèse, je me suis donc intéressé à la physiologie respiratoire et à l’identification de signaux chimiques potentiels typiques à l’homme qui régulent la vie adulte de ce moustique.
Comprendre comment ce moustique échange les gaz respiratoires avec son environnement ou quel schéma respiratoire (SR) il utilise est fondamental, car on en sait très peu sur la physiologie respiratoire des insectes de petite taille. En tant que petit ectotherme et sachant que ce moustique est particulièrement dépendant de l’hématophagie pour répondre à ses besoins métaboliques de base, une meilleure compréhension des variations de son SR en fonction de sa taille et de la température est également importante. Pour ce faire, un système de respirométrie à flux continu a été poussé vers ses limites en termes de précision et de résolution temporelle, afin de résoudre le SR utilisé par An. gambiae. Au repos, le SR de An. gambiae est caractérisé par la répétition cyclique d’événements excrétoires de CO₂ marqués, suivis de périodes d’émission plus basses. Les composantes sous-jacentes constituant le SR ont pu être identifiées et quantifiées. Ces dernières incluent : le taux métabolique au repos représente par le taux de production standard de CO₂ au repos (sV̇CO₂), la durée (P_int) et le taux d’émission de CO₂ (iV̇CO₂) entre les événements excrétoires de CO₂ marqués, ainsi que la fréquence (F), le volume (V_b), l’amplitude (A) et la durée (P_b) de ces derniers. Sur l’intervalle de taille et de température expérimentés, sV̇CO₂ varie d’un facteur de 10 (20 à 32°C, 0.9 à 2.3 mg, 0.6 à 6 μl CO₂/heure). Une analyse par régressions multiples démontre une relation positive et isométrique de sV̇CO₂ avec la taille et un Q₁₀ apparent de 2.13 (pour une augmentation de 10°C, sV̇CO₂ est plus que doublé). Sachant qu’un taux métabolique plus élevé imposé par l’environnement pourrait provoquer une recherche de ressources nutritionnelles accrue, voire un contact plus fréquent avec l’hôte, cette relation est un fondement important pour toute tentative de modélisation bottom-up des maladies transmises par les moustiques. La comparaison entre deux groupes d’âges distincts démontre un sV̇CO₂ plus bas et mieux maîtrisé chez les An. gambiae plus âgés (6 jours), suggérant ainsi un âge optimal pour le contrôle du métabolisme. Les individus présentant un sV̇CO₂ particulièrement bas, en plus de respirer de manière cyclique, respirent aussi de manière discontinue (échanges de gaz proche de 0 durant la période de basse émission). En activité, An. gambiae utilise un SR continu. Il est conclu que ce petit insecte est capable d’utiliser les 3 SR décrits à ce jour dans la littérature chez les insectes (SR continu, cyclique et cyclique/discontinu). Lors d’une augmentation de température, il est démontré que F module fortement le taux d’échanges gazeux en augmentant plus vite que le taux métabolique au repos. Ce découplage est compensé par une diminution de V_b, suggérant ainsi une diminution de la capacité tampon pour le CO₂ dans l’hémolymphe lorsque la température augmente. F varie indépendamment de la masse corporelle, alors que V_b augmente de manière disproportionnée avec cette dernière, suggérant ainsi un volume trachéal relativement plus élevé chez les individus de plus grande taille. Si l’on tient compte de leur taille et de la variété de comportements que les moustiques sont capables d’entreprendre durant leur vie adulte, il est suggéré que la capacité d’utiliser divers SR peut être un avantage, afin d’adapter le schéma respiratoire à la demande métabolique imposée selon les circonstances rencontrées durant la vie adulte.
An. gambiae, en plus d’être anthropophile, montre même une préférence pour certains types d’humains. Il est connu que le mécanisme derrière ce comportement sélectif est médié par l’odeur émise par l’hôte. La seconde partie de cette thèse s’est donc concentrée sur l’identification de signaux chimiques émis par l’hôte potentiellement impliqués dans ce comportement sélectif. Pour ce faire, un paradigme expérimental intégrant une bonne évaluation du comportement dans des conditions expérimentales optimales a été développé et utilisé. Ce dernier comprend : i) une population test de moustiques adultes spécialement élevée et prête à rechercher un hôte, ii) un olfactomètre amélioré à deux ports permettant de mesurer l’intensité de la réponse chimioanémotaxique du moustique et sa capacité discriminative en redirigeant son vol vers l’une des deux odeurs sources présentées, iii) la présence inhérente de fluctuations de CO₂ contrôlées afin de simuler la présence de deux hôtes potentiels et augmenter la sensitivité des moustiques et iv) des conditions de vol optimales (température, humidité et vitesse du vent).
Les fluctuations de CO₂ ont pu être mesurées et reproduites de manière consistante dans les deux ports de l’olfactomètre. Cette stimulation a augmenté la réceptivité des moustiques à répondre à des odeurs. Des expériences conduites avec l’ajout d’acide lactique (une signature olfactive humaine d’origine eccrine) dans un des ports de l’olfactomètre confirment que ce compose volatile n’intensifie pas la réponse chimioanémotaxique de An. gambiae mais influence son comportement discriminant. Après avoir validé le paradigme expérimental avec l’acide lactique, ce dernier a été utilise pour évaluer la réponse du vecteur à des odeurs provenant de l’incubation de sueur mâle et femelle avec 3 espèces de bactéries peuplant l’aisselle humaine. Staphylococcus epidermidis a été choisi car il produit une odeur moins intense, alors que Corynebacterium jeikeium et Staphylococcus haemolyticus ont été choisi pour leurs contributions biologiques importantes dans la production d’une odeur axillaire intense. Ces deux dernières bactéries, par le biais d’une activité enzymatique spécifique et prononcée, libèrent respectivement des acides carboxyliques dont notamment le (R)/(S)-3-hydroxy-3-methylhexanoique acide (HMHA) et des composés volatiles soufrés tel que le (R)/(S)-3-methyl-3-sulfanylhexane-1-ol (MSH). Les expériences avec l’olfactomètre démontrent que les trois bactéries, de par leur action sur la sueur mâle ou femelle, libèrent des composés volatiles influençant le comportement aussi bien chimioanémotaxique que discriminant de An. gambiae. Si le vecteur n’a pas pu distinguer la sueur mâle de la sueur femelle stérile, l’action de chaque bactérie a rendu la sueur mâle plus attractive de manière consistante. L’action de Corynebacterium jeikeium a généré la réponse chimionanémotaxique la plus intense et a engendré la préférence la plus forte pour la sueur mâle. Les composés volatiles HMHA et MSH sont suspectés d’être propres à l’odeur humaine mais aucun des deux composés volatiles n’a généré de préférence telle que celle observée pour l’acide lactique. Il n’est cependant pas exclu que ces deux signaux chimiques influencent le comportement du moustique au moment où il approche l’hôte ou encore engendre une activation suivie d’un vol soutenu en direction de l’hôte à des distances plus éloignées., Anopheles gambiae Giles (An. gambiae) is the main vector of malaria. To fulfil metabolic demand An. gambiae is particularly dependent on blood feeding which is an important driving force of its strong vectorial capacity. It is therefore important to better understand how its metabolism scales with body size and, as an ectotherm, evaluate the thermal sensitivity of its metabolism. Meanwhile, understanding how respiratory gases are exchanged, which gas exchange pattern (GEP) is employed by An. gambiae is also of broader importance as little is known about the respiratory physiology of smaller insects. For this purpose a flow-through respirometer system was pushed to its limit in terms of both its precision and temporal resolution in order to fully resolve the GEP of resting female An. gambiae. The underlying components constituting the GEP could be identified and quantified, including: the standard CO₂ production rate of resting An. gambiae (sV̇CO₂) as a proxy for resting metabolic rate, the inter-burst CO₂ emission rate (iV̇CO₂) and duration (P_int), and CO₂ burst frequency (F), duration (P_b), amplitude (A) and volume (V_b). Over the temperatures and body size ranges tested, sV̇CO₂ varied over a 10-fold range (20 to 32°C, 0.9 to 2.3 mg, 0.6 to 6 μl CO₂/hour). Multiple regression analysis demonstrates a positive and almost isometric scaling with living body mass and an apparent Q₁₀ of 2.13, i.e. for a 10°C increment sV̇CO₂ is more than doubled. Comparison of two age groups reveals lower and more controlled sV̇CO₂ by older (6 days) An. gambiae, suggesting the existence of an optimum age for metabolic control. Considering that a higher metabolic demand imposed by the environment may enhance foraging and contact to hosts, these relationships provide an important foundation for bottomup modelling for diseases transmitted by mosquitoes.
At rest, the GEP of An. gambiae can be characterised by the cyclic repetition of CO₂ bursts intercalated with inter-burst periods with a lower CO₂ emission rate. Individuals presenting particularly low sV̇CO₂ values exchange respiratory gases not only cyclically but also discontinuously (gas exchange is negligible during inter-burst periods). Disturbed An. gambiae presented a continuous GEP. It is concluded that An. gambiae uses all three GEPs described so far in the literature. With increasing temperature it is shown that F strongly modulates the gas exchange rate by increasing faster than sV̇CO₂. This discrepancy is almost compensated by lower V_b values at higher temperature suggesting a decrease in the haemolymph buffering capacity for CO₂ with increasing temperature. F is independent of body mass whereas V_b scales out of proportion with body size suggesting a relatively larger tracheal volume in bigger mosquitoes. Considering mosquito size and the wide panel of behaviours undertaken during adult life, it is suggested that the ability to employ various GEPs and modulating its components might be an advantage to adapt the respiratory gas exchange pattern used (discontinuous and cyclic to only cyclic and eventually to continuous) to metabolic demand depending on the situation encountered in adult life.
Another major contributor to the vectorial capacity of An. gambiae is its odour-mediated preference to bite humans over other vertebrate host and certain human types over others. The second part of the thesis focuses on the identification of potential infochemicals that may explain this odour-mediated anthropophilic and discriminative host seeking behaviour of An. gambiae. For this purpose an experimental paradigm integrating both a sound behavioural evaluation concepts and an appropriate testing environment is used. An improved dual-choice olfactometer that tests the host seeking behaviour of An. gambiae in the presence of continuous well-controlled intermittent CO₂ stimulation is presented in both arm is developed. This background stimulation simulates the presence of two potential hosts whilst acting as a releaser of odour perception. Olfactometer tests with lactic acid, a human eccrine signature, added on one arm in the presence of CO₂ pulses as sensitizer, confirm earlier findings that this infochemical not necessarily augments anemochemotactic upwind flight of the insect vector but influences the mosquito’s discriminative behaviour. After confirming the validity of the experimental paradigm it is used to evaluate the responses of An. gambiae to odours from human male and female axillary sweat incubated with 3 human axilla bacteria species. Staphylococcus epidermidis was selected for its low odour-producing pattern, Corynebacterium jeikeium for its strong Nα-acylglutamine aminoacylase activity liberating carboxylic acids including (R)/(S)-3-hydroxy-3-methylhexanoic acid (HMHA), and Staphylococcus haemolyticus for its capacity to liberate sulfur-containing compounds including (R)/(S)-3-methyl-3-sulfanylhexan-1-ol (MSH). It is demonstrated that An. gambiae is able to discriminate for the olfactometer arm conveying odour generated by incubating any of the three bacteria species with either male or female sweat. Whereas An. gambiae cannot discriminate between male and female sterile sweat samples in the olfactometer, the mosquito consistently shows a preference for male sweat over female sweat incubated with the same bacterium, independent of the species used as inoculum. Axillary sweat incubated with C. jeikeium rendered An. gambiae particularly responsive and this substrate elicited the strongest preference for male over female sweat. HMHA and MSH are suspected to be unique to human odour. It is shown that when tested on their own, neither HMHA nor MSH elicited a clear discriminating response but may affect human host approach by An. gambiae or enhance activation followed by sustained upwind flight over longer distances.

2014-1, Kaba, Dramane, Zacarie, Tusevo, Makumyaviri M’Pondi, Alexis, Njiokou, Flobert, Bosson-Vanga, Henriette, Kroeber, Thomas, McMullin, Andrew, Mihok, Steve, Guerin, Patrick

Background: Glossina palpalis palpalis (G. p. palpalis) is one of the principal vectors of sleeping sickness and nagana in Africa with a geographical range stretching from Liberia in West Africa to Angola in Central Africa. It inhabits tropical rain forest but has also adapted to urban settlements. We set out to standardize a long-lasting, practical and cost-effective visually attractive device that would induce the strongest landing response by G. p. palpalis for future use as an insecticideimpregnated tool in area-wide population suppression of this fly across its range. Methodology/Principal Findings: Trials were conducted in wet and dry seasons in the Ivory Coast, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola to measure the performance of traps (biconical, monoconical and pyramidal) and targets of different sizes and colours, with and without chemical baits, at different population densities and under different environmental conditions. Adhesive film was used as a practical enumerator at these remote locations to compare landing efficiencies of devices. Independent of season and country, both phthalogen blue-black and blue-black-blue 1 m2 targets covered with adhesive film proved to be as good as traps in phthalogen blue or turquoise blue for capturing G. p. palpalis. Trap efficiency varied (8–51%). There was no difference between the performance of blue-black and blue-blackblue 1 m2 targets. Baiting with chemicals augmented the overall performance of targets relative to traps. Landings on smaller phthalogen blue-black 0.25 m2 square targets were not significantly different from either 1 m2 blue-black-blue or blue-black square targets. Three times more flies were captured per unit area on the smaller device. Conclusions/Significance: Blue-black 0.25 m2 cloth targets show promise as simple cost effective devices for management of G. p. palpalis as they can be used for both control when impregnated with insecticide and for population sampling when covered with adhesive film.

2013, Kessler, Sébastien, Vlimant, Michèle, Guerin, Patrick

In this study, we show that female African malaria mosquitoes Anopheles gambiae starved for 3-5 h start to engorge on sucrose at concentrations between 50 and 75 mmol l(-1). Half of the feeding response (ED50) is reached at 111 mmol l(-1) and the maximum response (0.4. mg) occurs at 250 mmol l(-1). Two receptor cells in a trichoid sensillum of the labellum, called the 'sucrose' and 'water' neurones, are activated by sucrose and water, respectively. The electrophysiological response of the sucrose receptor cell starts well below the level of sugar necessary to induce engorgement. The sugar receptor cell is most sensitive to small increments in sucrose concentration up to 10 mmol l(-1) with a response plateau from 25 mmol l(-1). Fructose has a mild phagostimulatory effect on A. gambiae, whereas no significant differences in meal sizes between water and glucose were found. However, when 146 mmol. l(-1) fructose plus glucose are mixed, the same engorgement as on 146 mmol l(-1) sucrose is observed. Likewise, even though the sucrose receptor cell is not activated by either fructose or glucose alone, equimolar solutions of fructose plus glucose activate the neurone. We conclude that there is a behavioural and neurophysiological synergism between fructose and glucose, the two hexose sugars of sucrose. We show that some bitter-tasting products for humans have a deterrent effect on feeding in A. gambiae. When 1 mmol l(-1) quinidine, quinine or denatonium benzoate is added to 146 mmol l(-1) sucrose, feeding is almost totally inhibited. The effect of berberine is lower and no significant inhibition on engorgement occurs for caffeine. The deterrent effect depends on the concentration for both quinine and quinidine. Capillary feeding experiments show that contact chemosensilla on the mouthparts are sufficient for the detection of sucrose and bitter products. The feeding assay findings with deterrents correlate with the neurophysiological responses of the sucrose and water labellar neurones, which are both inhibited by the bitter compounds denatonium benzoate, quinine and berberine between 0.01 and 1 mmol l(-1), but not by the same concentrations of caffeine. In conclusion, sucrose stimulates feeding and activates the labellar sucrose neurone, whereas feeding deterrents inhibit both the sucrose and water neurones. This study provides an initial understanding of the physiological mechanisms involved in sugar feeding in A. gambiae and shows how some bitter products interfere with it.

2013, Kröber, Thomas, Bourquin, Martine, Guerin, Patrick

The threat of transmission of Lyme borelliosis and tick-borne encephalitis by ixodid ticks has resulted in an increasing number of tick repellents coming onto the market. To allow proper evaluation of the efficacy of different types of compounds and their formulations, there is a need for standardised methods for testing ticks repellents. Ticks show a marked negative geotactic response following contact with a potential host, i.e., they climb up in order to locate attachment and feeding sites, whereas exposing ticks to repellents induces positive geotaxis, i.e., ticks walk downwards or drop off the treated host or substrate. We describe here complementary tests that employ these geotactic responses to evaluate repellents: one in vitro on a warm glass plate and the other on the lower human leg (shin). The compounds tested were DEET, EBAAP, icaridin, capric acid, lauric acid, geraniol, citriodiol, citronella essential oil and lavender essential oil, all non-proprietary ingredients of widely distributed tick repellent formulations.

In controls on both the warm glass plate and the human leg, the majority of Ixodes ricinus nymphs walk upwards. By contrast, in both the in vitro and in vivo tests, effective doses of repellents cause ticks to either walk downwards or fall off the substrates, termed here “affected ticks”. The ED75 values for affected ticks on the human leg indicate that the test products can be divided into three groups: (1) icaridin, EBAAP, DEET and capric acid with values between 0.013 and 0.020 mg/cm², (2) citriodiol and lauric acid with values between 0.035 and 0.058 mg/cm², and (3) geraniol, citronella oil and lavender essential oil with values between 0.131 and 1.58 mg/cm². The latter three products can be considered as less effective repellents. The tests on the warm glass plate resulted in very similar efficacy rankings for the products tested in vivo, and the ticks’ behavioural responses also corresponded closely to those observed on the treated human leg. The ED75 values on the glass plate ranged from half to one sixth needed on the leg. The warm glass plate test thus provides a reliable alternative to human subjects for an initial evaluation of new repellents, and is particularly appropriate for testing products with still to be determined human toxicity and dermatological effects.

2016, Emmanuel Kamba Mebourou, Guerin, Patrick

Résumé Les mouches tsétsés sont des insectes hématophages qu’on trouve en Afrique subsaharienne et dont les espèces sont classifiées en trois principaux groupes écologiques (riverain, savane et forêt). Les mouches tsétsés riveraines et de savane sont les vecteurs potentiels des trypanosomes, parasites qui causent la trypanosomiase (maladie du sommeil), à l’Homme et au bétail à travers leurs piqûres au cours leur repas sanguin. La trypanosomiase est une maladie tropicale négligée qui affecte la santé humaine et cause d’importantes pertes économiques. La réduction de la population des mouches tsétsés par l’utilisation des écrans visuels imprégnés d’insecticide (tissus bleus, noirs ou bleu‐noir) reste l’un des moyens efficaces pour lutter contre la maladie. La réduction des écrans visuels standards (1 m x 1 m) aux écrans de petites tailles (25 cm x 25 cm) sont des moyens effaces et bon marché pour contrôler la population des mouches tsétsés riveraines. Une telle réduction de taille des écrans visuels est inefficace contre les tsétsés de savane. L’objectif principal de cette thèse était de développer des appâts visuels efficaces, bon marché et standardisés qui permettent de contrôler les populations des mouches tsétsés. Le control et l’éradication des mouches tsétsés requièrent une solide connaissance de leur comportement et de leur écologie. J’ai d’abord exploré au laboratoire le comportement au repos de Glossina pallidipes qui est une mouche tsétsé de savane (groupe Morsitans). J’ai montré que (1) le fait de trouver une perche au‐dessus du sol est un comportement fondamental de survie chez G. pallidipes qui est capable de voler vers des sites de repos dans l'obscurité estimée à 10 fois plus bas que l'illumination pendant une nuit à ciel couvert et (2) le choix des sites de repos diurnes par les mouches est lié à leur résolution visuelle déterminée par leurs réponses optomotrices et par électrorétinographie. Ensuite, j'ai travaillé suivant l'hypothèse que les sites de repos horizontaux des mouches tsétsés (branches horizontales dans la nature) pourraient être des substrats d'atterrissage efficaces de ces mouches lorsqu'ils sont associés à des écrans visuels. Le comportement en vol et l'atterrissage de G. pallidipes sur des écrans visuels bidimensionnels et tridimensionnels dans une arène circulaire de vol libre et dans une chambre de vol confirment que G. pallidipes s’approche d'un objet visuel par le dessous et explore l'objet en volant autour de la partie inférieure de celui‐ci. Une barre en bois de 1.5 cm de diamètre recouverte d'un tissu mat noir et placé horizontalement à la base d'un écran carré bleu (25 cm x 25 cm) augmente les atterrissages de G. pallidipes de facteur 2 sur l’écran comparé à l’écran tout bleu dans la chambre de vol. L’écran bleu incorporant une barre noire à la base est prometteur d’un dispositif rentable à utiliser comme appâts visuels imprégnés d'insecticide pour contrôler la population des mouches tsétsés. Enfin, la question de la persistance de deltaméthrine, un insecticide de la classe des pyréthroïdes actuellement utilisé pour le contrôle des tsétsés, a été traitée. L'effet de l’exposition dans les conditions naturelles (Lambwe Valley, Kenya) sur la capacité de quatre différents textiles contenant des proportions croissantes (0, 35, 65 et 100%) de polyester et imprégnés de deltaméthrine a été évalué. Ces textiles ont été saturés d'une solution aqueuse de deltaméthrine à 1000 mg/m2 et ont été exposés au champ durant 18 mois. La toxicité sur G. pallidipes de ces textiles imprégnés de deltaméthrine et exposés au champ a été évaluée sur 24 heures après 45 secondes de contact de ces textiles avec les mouches. Seuls les textiles constitués de polyester à 65% et 100% étaient capables de tuer respectivement 47 et 67% de G. pallidipes après 9 mois d'exposition dans les conditions naturelles. Le textile à 100% polyester était encore capable de paralyser toutes les mouches après 18 mois d’exposition au champ. La dose létale de deltaméthrine pour tuer 50% (DL50) de G. pallidipes était estimée à 30 mg/m2 sur du papier buvard tandis que Le textile à 100% polyester conservait 17 mg/m2 après 9 mois d’exposition au champ et causait une mortalité de 67% chez les mouches soulignant l'influence du type de matériel sur la disponibilité de l’insecticide aux mouches tsétsés. Sur la base de l'ensemble des résultats de cette thèse, une perspective de recherche a été proposée pour la République centrafricaine qui abrite quatre foyers de trypanosomiase où la lutte contre les mouches tsétsés a longtemps été négligée.

2013-2, Mramba, Furaha, Oloo, Francis, Byamungu, Mechtilda, Kroeber, Thomas, McMullin, Andrew, Guerin, Patrick, Mihok, Steve

Background: Here we set out to standardize long-lasting, visually-attractive devices for Glossina swynnertoni, a vector of both human and animal trypanosomiasis in open savannah in Tanzania and Kenya, and in neighbouring conservation areas used by pastoralists. The goal was to determine the most practical device/material that would induce the strongest landing response in G. swynnertoni for use in area-wide population suppression of this fly with insecticide-impregnated devices. Methods and Findings: Trials were conducted in wet and dry seasons in the Serengeti and Maasai Mara to measure the performance of traps and targets of different sizes and colours, with and without chemical baits, at different population densities and under different environmental conditions. Adhesive film was used as a simple enumerator at these remote locations to compare trapping efficiencies of devices. Independent of season or presence of chemical baits, targets in phthalogen blue or turquoise blue cloth with adhesive film were the best devices for capturing G. swynnertoni in all situations, catching up to 19 times more flies than pyramidal traps. Baiting with chemicals did not affect the relative performance of devices. Fly landings were two times higher on 1 m2 blue-black targets as on pyramidal traps when equivalent areas of both were covered with adhesive film. Landings on 1 m2 blue-black targets were compared to those on smaller phthalogen blue 0.5 m2 all-blue or blue-black-blue cloth targets, and to landings on all-blue plastic 0.32–0.47 m2 leg panels painted in phthalogen blue. These smaller targets and leg panels captured equivalent numbers of G. swynnertoni per unit area as bigger targets. Conclusions: Leg panels and 0.5 m2 cloth targets show promise as cost effective devices for management of G. swynnertoni as they can be used for both control (insecticide-impregnated cloth) and for sampling (rigid plastic with insect glue or adhesive film) of populations.

2013, Chappuis, C. J. F., Beguin, S., Vlimant, Michèle, Guerin, Patrick

Background: Tsetse flies are obligatory blood feeders, accessing capillaries by piercing the skin of their hosts with the haustellum to suck blood. However, this behaviour presents a considerable risk as landing flies are exposed to predators as well as the host's own defense reactions such as tail flicking. Achieving a successful blood meal within the shortest time span is therefore at a premium in tsetse, so feeding until replete normally lasts less than a minute. Biting in blood sucking insects is a multi-sensory response involving a range of physical and chemical stimuli. Here we investigated the role of heat and humidity emitted from host skin on the biting responses of Glossina pallidipes, which to our knowledge has not been fully studied in tsetse before. Methods: The onset and duration of the biting response of G. pallidipes was recorded by filming movements of its haustellum in response to rapid increases in temperature and/or relative humidity ( RH) following exposure of the fly to two airflows. The electrophysiological responses of hygroreceptor cells in wall-pore sensilla on the palps of G. pallidipes to drops in RH were recorded using tungsten electrodes and the ultra-structure of these sensory cells was studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Results: Both latency and proportion of tsetse biting are closely correlated to RH when accompanied by an increase of 13.1 degrees C above ambient temperature but not for an increase of just 0.2 degrees C. Biting persistence, as measured by the number of bites and the time spent biting, also increases with increasing RH accompanied by a 13.1 degrees C increase in air temperature. Neurones in wall-pore sensilla on the palps respond to shifts in RH. Conclusions: Our results show that temperature acts synergistically with humidity to increase the rapidity and frequency of the biting response in tsetse above the levels induced by increasing temperature or humidity separately. Palp sensilla housing hygroreceptor cells, described here for the first time in tsetse, are involved in the perception of differences in RH.

2014, Kessler, Sébastien, González, Julia, Vlimant, Michèle, Glauser, Gaétan, Guerin, Patrick

A membrane feeding assay in which the effects of the antimalarial drugs quinine and artesunate are tested on Anopheles gambiae Giles sensu stricto is described. In the present study, 87% of female A. gambiae are shown to feed on whole defibrinated bovine blood alone, whereas only 47% and 43.5% feed on saline and on saline + bovine serum albumin (BSA) solutions, respectively, suggesting that additional components in the blood stimulate mosquito feeding. The addition of 1 mm quinine or artesunate to the BSA solution results in a significant reduction in percentage engorgement to 16.2% and 14.1%, respectively. However, the feeding rate is higher when 1 mm artesunate and quinine are mixed in the blood because 67.8% and 78.4% of females engorge on these solutions respectively. Artesunate (10 mm) in the blood reduces percentage engorgement to 20%. Because circulating doses of quinine and artesunate affecting Plasmodium in humans are much lower than those affecting feeding by A. gambiae in the in vitro assay, these two antimalarial drugs should have no effect, or only a minor effect, on the infection rate of mosquitoes feeding on treated patients. Because only the stylets penetrate the membrane and not the labellar lobes, the results of the present study suggest that both blood phagostimulants and feeding deterrents are detected by internal gustatory organs in A. gambiae, namely sensory cells in the apical and subapical labral pegs, in sensilla on the inner face of the labellar lobes, or by cibarial receptor cells. The neuroanatomy of gustatory sensilla on the apical and subapical labral pegs and on the inner face of the labellar lobes of female A. gambiae is described in the present study.

2013, Kroeber, Thomas, Bourquin, Martine, Guerin, Patrick

The threat of transmission of Lyme borelliosis and tick-borne encephalitis by ixodid ticks has resulted in an increasing number of tick repellents coming onto the market. To allow proper evaluation of the efficacy of different types of compounds and their formulations, there is a need for standardised methods for testing ticks repellents. Ticks show a marked negative geotactic response following contact with a potential host, i.e., they climb up in order to locate attachment and feeding sites, whereas exposing ticks to repellents induces positive geotaxis, i.e., ticks walk downwards or drop off the treated host or substrate. We describe here complementary tests that employ these geotactic responses to evaluate repellents: one in vitro on a warm glass plate and the other on the lower human leg (shin). The compounds tested were DEET, EBAAP, icaridin, capric acid, lauric acid, geraniol, citriodiol, citronella essential oil and lavender essential oil, all non-proprietary ingredients of widely distributed tick repellent formulations. In controls on both the warm glass plate and the human leg, the majority of Nodes ricinus nymphs walk upwards. By contrast, in both the in vitro and in vivo tests, effective doses of repellents cause ticks to either walk downwards or fall off the substrates, termed here "affected ticks". The ED75 values for affected ticks on the human leg indicate that the test products can be divided into three groups: (1) icaridin, EBAAP, DEET and capric acid with values between 0.013 and 0.020 mg/cm(2), (2) citriodiol and lauric acid with values between 0.035 and 0.058 mg/cm(2), and (3) geraniol, citronella oil and lavender essential oil with values between 0.131 and 1.58 mg/cm2. The latter three products can be considered as less effective repellents. The tests on the warm glass plate resulted in very similar efficacy rankings for the products tested in vivo, and the ticks' behavioural responses also corresponded closely to those observed on the treated human leg. The ED75 values on the glass plate ranged from half to one sixth needed on the leg. The warm glass plate test thus provides a reliable alternative to human subjects for an initial evaluation of new repellents, and is particularly appropriate for testing products with still to be determined human toxicity and dermatological effects. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

2013, Kessler, Sébastien, Vlimant, Michèle, Guerin, Patrick

In this study, we show that female African malaria mosquitoes Anopheles gambiae starved for 3–5 h start to engorge on sucrose at concentrations between 50 and 75 mmol l⁻¹. Half of the feeding response (ED₅₀) is reached at 111 mmol l⁻¹ and the maximum response (0.4 mg) occurs at 250 mmol l⁻¹. Two receptor cells in a trichoid sensillum of the labellum, called the ‘sucrose’ and ‘water’ neurones, are activated by sucrose and water, respectively. The electrophysiological response of the sucrose receptor cell starts well below the level of sugar necessary to induce engorgement. The sugar receptor cell is most sensitive to small increments in sucrose concentration up to 10 mmol l⁻¹ with a response plateau from 25 mmol l⁻¹. Fructose has a mild phagostimulatory effect on A. gambiae, whereas no significant differences in meal sizes between water and glucose were found. However, when 146 mmol l⁻¹ fructose plus glucose are mixed, the same engorgement as on 146 mmol l⁻¹ sucrose is observed. Likewise, even though the sucrose receptor cell is not activated by either fructose or glucose alone, equimolar solutions of fructose plus glucose activate the neurone. We conclude that there is a behavioural and neurophysiological synergism between fructose and glucose, the two hexose sugars of sucrose. We show that some bitter-tasting products for humans have a deterrent effect on feeding in A. gambiae. When 1 mmol l⁻¹ quinidine, quinine or denatonium benzoate is added to 146 mmol l⁻¹ sucrose, feeding is almost totally inhibited. The effect of berberine is lower and no significant inhibition on engorgement occurs for caffeine. The deterrent effect depends on the concentration for both quinine and quinidine. Capillary feeding experiments show that contact chemosensilla on the mouthparts are sufficient for the detection of sucrose and bitter products. The feeding assay findings with deterrents correlate with the neurophysiological responses of the sucrose and water labellar neurones, which are both inhibited by the bitter compounds denatonium benzoate, quinine and berberine between 0.01 and 1 mmol l⁻¹, but not by the same concentrations of caffeine. In conclusion, sucrose stimulates feeding and activates the labellar sucrose neurone, whereas feeding deterrents inhibit both the sucrose and water neurones. This study provides an initial understanding of the physiological mechanisms involved in sugar feeding in A. gambiae and shows how some bitter products interfere with it.