Final published version
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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Attraction of Lutzomyia longipalpis to synthetic sex-aggregation pheromone
T2 - Effect of release rate and proximity of adjacent pheromone sources
AU - Bell, Melissa J.
AU - Sedda, Luigi
AU - Gonzalez, Mikel A.
AU - de Souza, Cristian F.
AU - Dilger, Erin
AU - Brazil, Reginaldo P.
AU - Courtenay, Orin
AU - Hamilton, James G. C.
PY - 2018/12/19
Y1 - 2018/12/19
N2 - In South America, the Protist parasite that causes visceral leishmaniasis, a potentially fatal human disease, is transmitted by blood-feeding female Lutzomyia longipalpis sand flies. A synthetic copy of the male produced sex-aggregation pheromone offers new opportunities for vector control applications. We have previously shown that the pheromone placed in plastic sachets (lures) can attract both females and males to insecticide treated sites for up to 3 months. To use the pheromone lure in a control program we need to understand how the application of lures in the field can be optimised. In this study we investigated the effect of increasing the number of lures and their proximity to each other on their ability to attract Lu. longipalpis. Also for the first time we applied a Bayesian log-linear model rather than a classic simple (deterministic) log-linear model to fully exploit the field-collected data. We found that sand fly response to pheromone is significantly related to the quantity of pheromone and is not influenced by the proximity of other pheromone sources. Thus sand flies are attracted to the pheromone source at a non-linear rate determined by the amount of pheromone being released. This rate is independent of the proximity of other pheromone releasing traps and indicates the role of the pheromone in aggregation formation. These results have important implications for optimisation of the pheromone as a vector control tool and indicate that multiple lures placed in relatively close proximity to each other (5 m apart) are unlikely to interfere with one another.
AB - In South America, the Protist parasite that causes visceral leishmaniasis, a potentially fatal human disease, is transmitted by blood-feeding female Lutzomyia longipalpis sand flies. A synthetic copy of the male produced sex-aggregation pheromone offers new opportunities for vector control applications. We have previously shown that the pheromone placed in plastic sachets (lures) can attract both females and males to insecticide treated sites for up to 3 months. To use the pheromone lure in a control program we need to understand how the application of lures in the field can be optimised. In this study we investigated the effect of increasing the number of lures and their proximity to each other on their ability to attract Lu. longipalpis. Also for the first time we applied a Bayesian log-linear model rather than a classic simple (deterministic) log-linear model to fully exploit the field-collected data. We found that sand fly response to pheromone is significantly related to the quantity of pheromone and is not influenced by the proximity of other pheromone sources. Thus sand flies are attracted to the pheromone source at a non-linear rate determined by the amount of pheromone being released. This rate is independent of the proximity of other pheromone releasing traps and indicates the role of the pheromone in aggregation formation. These results have important implications for optimisation of the pheromone as a vector control tool and indicate that multiple lures placed in relatively close proximity to each other (5 m apart) are unlikely to interfere with one another.
KW - PHLEBOTOMINE SAND FLIES
KW - VISCERAL LEISHMANIASIS
KW - MINAS-GERAIS
KW - RIO-DOCE
KW - PSYCHODIDAE
KW - DIPTERA
KW - STATE
KW - KAIROMONES
KW - INFECTION
KW - TRAPS
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007007
DO - 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007007
M3 - Journal article
VL - 12
JO - PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
JF - PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
SN - 1935-2735
IS - 12
M1 - e0007007
ER -