Densovirus Oil Suspension Significantly Improves the Efficacy and Duration of Larvicidal Activity against <i>Aedes albopictus</i>
2022
Khadija Batool | Jie Xiao | Ye Xu | Ting Yang | Peiwen Tao | Siyu Zhao | Jiao Chen | Intikhab Alam | Yugu Xie | Jinbao Gu | Xiaoguang Chen
<i>Aedes albopictus</i> is the sole vector for various mosquito-borne viruses, including dengue, chikungunya, and Zika. Ecofriendly biological agents are required to reduce the spread of these mosquito-borne infections. Mosquito densoviruses (MDVs) are entomopathogenic mosquito-specific viruses, which can reduce the capacity of isolated vectors and decrease mosquito-borne viral disease transmission. However, their variable pathogenicity restricts their commercial use. In the present study, we developed a series of novel larvicide oil suspensions (denoted <i>Bacillus thuringiensis</i> (<i>Bti</i>) oil, <i>Ae. albopictus</i> densovirus (AalDV-5) oil, and a mixture of AalDV-5+<i>Bti</i> oil), which were tested against <i>Ae. albopictus</i> larvae under experimental semi-field and open-field conditions. The effect of AalDV-5 on non-target species was also evaluated. The combined effect of AalDV-5+<i>Bti</i> was greater than that of individual toxins and was longer lasting and more persistent compared with the laboratory AalDV-5 virus strain. The virus was quantified on a weekly basis by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and was persistently detected in rearing water as well as in dead larvae. Wildtype densovirus is not pathogenic to non-target organisms. The present findings confirm the improved effect of a mixed microbial suspension (AalDV-5+<i>Bti</i> oil) larvicide against <i>Ae. albopictus</i>. The development and testing of these products will enable better control of the vector mosquitoes.
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