Increased blood meal size and feeding frequency compromise Aedes aegypti midgut integrity and enhance dengue virus dissemination.
Aedes aegypti is a highly efficient vector for numerous pathogenic arboviruses including dengue virus (DENV), Zika virus, and yellow fever virus. This efficiency can in part be attributed to their frequent feeding behavior. We previously found that acquisition of a second, full, non-infectious blood...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2023-11-01
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| Series: | PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
| Online Access: | https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0011703&type=printable |
| _version_ | 1797311464240840704 |
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| author | Rebecca M Johnson Duncan W Cozens Zannatul Ferdous Philip M Armstrong Doug E Brackney |
| author_facet | Rebecca M Johnson Duncan W Cozens Zannatul Ferdous Philip M Armstrong Doug E Brackney |
| author_sort | Rebecca M Johnson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Aedes aegypti is a highly efficient vector for numerous pathogenic arboviruses including dengue virus (DENV), Zika virus, and yellow fever virus. This efficiency can in part be attributed to their frequent feeding behavior. We previously found that acquisition of a second, full, non-infectious blood meal could accelerate virus dissemination within the mosquito by temporarily compromising midgut basal lamina integrity; however, in the wild, mosquitoes are often interrupted during feeding and only acquire partial or minimal blood meals. To explore the impact of this feeding behavior further, we examined the effects of partial blood feeding on DENV dissemination rates and midgut basal lamina damage in Ae. aegypti. DENV-infected mosquitoes given a secondary partial blood meal had intermediate rates of dissemination and midgut basal lamina damage compared to single-fed and fully double-fed counterparts. Subsequently, we evaluated if basal lamina damage accumulated across feeding episodes. Interestingly, within 24 hours of feeding, damage was proportional to the number of blood meals imbibed; however, this additive effect returned to baseline levels by 96 hours. These data reveal that midgut basal lamina damage and rates of dissemination are proportional to feeding frequency and size, and further demonstrate the impact that mosquito feeding behavior has on vector competence and arbovirus epidemiology. This work has strong implications for our understanding of virus transmission in the field and will be useful when designing laboratory experiments and creating more accurate models of virus spread and maintenance. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T02:00:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-aeb44399d52f44d2a5f912f3985fe8c8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1935-2727 1935-2735 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T02:00:04Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
| spelling | doaj.art-aeb44399d52f44d2a5f912f3985fe8c82024-02-14T05:33:19ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases1935-27271935-27352023-11-011711e001170310.1371/journal.pntd.0011703Increased blood meal size and feeding frequency compromise Aedes aegypti midgut integrity and enhance dengue virus dissemination.Rebecca M JohnsonDuncan W CozensZannatul FerdousPhilip M ArmstrongDoug E BrackneyAedes aegypti is a highly efficient vector for numerous pathogenic arboviruses including dengue virus (DENV), Zika virus, and yellow fever virus. This efficiency can in part be attributed to their frequent feeding behavior. We previously found that acquisition of a second, full, non-infectious blood meal could accelerate virus dissemination within the mosquito by temporarily compromising midgut basal lamina integrity; however, in the wild, mosquitoes are often interrupted during feeding and only acquire partial or minimal blood meals. To explore the impact of this feeding behavior further, we examined the effects of partial blood feeding on DENV dissemination rates and midgut basal lamina damage in Ae. aegypti. DENV-infected mosquitoes given a secondary partial blood meal had intermediate rates of dissemination and midgut basal lamina damage compared to single-fed and fully double-fed counterparts. Subsequently, we evaluated if basal lamina damage accumulated across feeding episodes. Interestingly, within 24 hours of feeding, damage was proportional to the number of blood meals imbibed; however, this additive effect returned to baseline levels by 96 hours. These data reveal that midgut basal lamina damage and rates of dissemination are proportional to feeding frequency and size, and further demonstrate the impact that mosquito feeding behavior has on vector competence and arbovirus epidemiology. This work has strong implications for our understanding of virus transmission in the field and will be useful when designing laboratory experiments and creating more accurate models of virus spread and maintenance.https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0011703&type=printable |
| spellingShingle | Rebecca M Johnson Duncan W Cozens Zannatul Ferdous Philip M Armstrong Doug E Brackney Increased blood meal size and feeding frequency compromise Aedes aegypti midgut integrity and enhance dengue virus dissemination. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
| title | Increased blood meal size and feeding frequency compromise Aedes aegypti midgut integrity and enhance dengue virus dissemination. |
| title_full | Increased blood meal size and feeding frequency compromise Aedes aegypti midgut integrity and enhance dengue virus dissemination. |
| title_fullStr | Increased blood meal size and feeding frequency compromise Aedes aegypti midgut integrity and enhance dengue virus dissemination. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Increased blood meal size and feeding frequency compromise Aedes aegypti midgut integrity and enhance dengue virus dissemination. |
| title_short | Increased blood meal size and feeding frequency compromise Aedes aegypti midgut integrity and enhance dengue virus dissemination. |
| title_sort | increased blood meal size and feeding frequency compromise aedes aegypti midgut integrity and enhance dengue virus dissemination |
| url | https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0011703&type=printable |
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