KU Leuven finds eco-friendly way to battle mosquitoes
A KU Leuven researcher has discovered that a mosquito stress response to a certain predator is the key to improving biological pesticides
Stress factor
The fight against mosquitoes is high on the health-care agenda worldwide as they are the source of many diseases such as malaria and the zika virus. But the chemical pesticides used to control them are not only bad for the environment, they are increasingly less effective. Mosquitos are becoming resistant to pesticides, including to Bti – the most commonly used biological pesticide.
The notonectidae family of water insects, also known as backswimmers, are natural enemies of the mosquito. A chemical substance known as kairomones produced by notonectidae in the presence of prey cause a stress response in mosquitoes, which suppresses their immune systems.
Based on this process, KU Leuven PhD student Lin Op de Beeck found that Bti’s effectiveness can be improved by adding a synthetic variant of these kairomones. She also showed that the substance harms the immune system in such a way that surviving mosquitoes still die faster.
Aside from helping to control the longevity of mosquitos, Op de Beeck explained, the parasites spread by mosquitoes that transfer certain diseases such as malaria don’t have time to finish their incubation period. And, she said, the kairomones are relatively simple and inexpensive to reproduce.
