INVESTIGADORES
RABINOVICH Jorge Eduardo
artículos
Título:
Biological control of the Chagas disease vector Triatoma infestans with the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana combined with an aggregation cue: field, laboratory and mathematical modeling assessment
Autor/es:
FORLANI, L.; PEDRINI, N.; GIROTTI, J. R.; MIJAILOVSKY, S. J.; CARDOZO, R. M.; GENTILE, A.; HERNÁNDEZ SUÁREZ, C. M.; J. E. RABINOVICH; JUÁREZ, P.
Revista:
PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES
Editorial:
PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE
Referencias:
Lugar: San Francisco; Año: 2015
ISSN:
1935-2735
Resumen:
Background:
Current Chagas
disease vector control strategies, based on chemical insecticide spraying, are
growingly threatened by the emergence of pyrethroid-resistant Triatoma infestans populations
in the Gran Chaco region
of South America.
Methodology and findings
We
have already shown that the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana has the ability to breach the insect cuticle and
is effective both against pyrethroid-susceptible and pyrethroid-resistant T. infestans, in laboratory as well as field
assays. It is also known that T. infestans
cuticle lipids play a major role as contact aggregation pheromones. We estimated
the effectiveness of pheromone-based infection boxes containing B. bassiana spores to kill indoor bugs,
and its effect on the vector population dynamics. Laboratory assays were performed
to estimate the effect of fungal infection on female reproductive parameters. The
effect of insect exuviae as an aggregation signal in the performance of the infection
boxes was estimated both in the laboratory and in the field. We developed a
stage-specific matrix model of T.
infestans to describe the fungal infection effects on insect population
dynamics, and to analyze the performance of the biopesticide device in vector biological
control.
Conclusions
The pheromone-containing infective box is a
promising new tool against indoor populations of this Chagas disease vector,
with the number of boxes per house being the main driver
of the reduction of the total domestic bug population. This ecologically safe approach is the first
proven alternative to chemical insecticides in the control of T. infestans. The advantageous reduction
in vector population by delayed-action fungal biopesticides in a contained
environment is here first shown.