Increasing our knowledge of male mosquito biology in relation to genetic control programmes

Authors: LEES, ROSEMARY - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); KNOLS, BART - Wageningen University; BELLINI, ROMEO - Environment Agriculture Center(CAA) G Nicoli; BENEDICT, MARK - Universita Di Perugia; BHEECARRY, AMBICADUTT - Ministry Of Health And Quality Of Life; BOSSIN, HERVE - Institut Louis Malarde; CHADEE, DAVE - Cocoa Research Unit - Trinidad; CHARLWOOD, JACQUES - Dbl Institute For Health Research And Development; DABIRE, ROCH - Centre Muraz Organisation De Cooperation Et De Coordination Pour La Lutte Contre Les Grandes Endemi; DJOGBENOU, LUC - Universite` D` Abomey-Calavi; EGYIR-YAWSON, ALEXANDER - Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAECGH); GATO, RENE - Instituto De Medicina Tropical Pedro Kouri; GIBSON, GABRIELLA - University Of Greenwich; GOUAGNA, LOUIS - Institute For Research And Development In Agri-Environment(IRDA); HASSAN, MOAWIA - Tropical Medicine Research Institute; KHAN, SHAKIL - Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission; KOEKEMOER, LIZETTE - National Institute For Communicable Diseases (NICD); LEMPERIERE, GUY - Institute For Research And Development In Agri-Environment(IRDA); Manoukis, Nicholas; MOZURAITIS, RAIMONDAS - Royal Institute Of Technology - Sweden; PITTS, JASON - Vanderbilt University; SIMARD, FREDERIC - Institut De Recherche En Sciencies De La Sante; GILLES, JEREMIE - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Submitted to: ACTA TROPICA
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/1/2013
Publication Date: 1/1/2014
Citation: Lees, R.S., Knols, B., Bellini, R., Benedict, M., Bheecarry, A., Bossin, H.C., Chadee, D., Charlwood, J., Dabire, R.K., Djogbenou, L., Egyir-Yawson, A., Gato, R., Gibson, G., Gouagna, L.C., Hassan, M.M., Khan, S.A., Koekemoer, L., Lemperiere, G., Manoukis, N., Mozuraitis, R., Pitts, J., Simard, F., Gilles, J. 2014. Increasing our knowledge of male mosquito biology in relation to genetic control programmes. ACTA TROPICA. 132(S):2-11.

Interpretive Summary: An FAO/IAEA Coordinated Research Project brought international scientists together to research the mating biology and behaviour of male mosquitoes; the results form the basis of this special issue.

Technical Abstract: The enormous burden placed on populations worldwide by mosquito-borne diseases, most notably malaria and dengue, is currently being tackled by the use of insecticides sprayed in residences or applied to bednets, and in the case of dengue vectors through reduction of larval breeding sites. However, these methods are under threat from, amongst other issues, the development of insecticide resistance and the practical difficulty of maintaining long term community-wide efforts. The sterile insect technique (SIT) is proposed as a further weapon in the limited arsenal against mosquito vectors, whose success hinges on having a good understanding of the biology and behaviour of the male mosquito, which may be species specific or even vary by specific locality. The production and release of sterile males, which is the mechanism of population suppression by SIT, relies on the mass-reared released males being able to confer sterility in the target population through mating with wild females. A five year joint FAO/IAEA Coordinated Research Project brought together researchers from around the world to investigate the pre-mating conditions of the male mosquito (physiology and behaviour, resource acquisition and allocation, and dispersal), the mosquito mating systems and the contribution of molecular or chemical approaches to the understanding of male mosquito mating behaviour. A summary of the existing knowledge and main novel findings of this group is reviewed here, and further presented in the reviews and research articles which form this Acta Tropica special issue.