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. 2014 Feb 27;8(2):e2677.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002677. eCollection 2014 Feb.

A multi-species bait for Chagas disease vectors

Theo Mota  1 , Ana C R Vitta  2 , Alicia N Lorenzo-Figueiras  3 , Carla P Barezani  2 , Carlos L Zani  4 , Claudio R Lazzari  5 , Liléia Diotaiuti  2 , Lynne Jeffares  2 , Björn Bohman  2 , Marcelo G Lorenzo  2
Affiliations

A multi-species bait for Chagas disease vectors

Theo Mota et al. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Triatomine bugs are the insect vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease. These insects are known to aggregate inside shelters during daylight hours and it has been demonstrated that within shelters, the aggregation is induced by volatiles emitted from bug feces. These signals promote inter-species aggregation among most species studied, but the chemical composition is unknown.

Methodology/principal findings: In the present work, feces from larvae of the three species were obtained and volatile compounds were identified by solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS). We identified five compounds, all present in feces of all of the three species: Triatoma infestans, Panstrongylus megistus and Triatoma brasiliensis. These substances were tested for attractivity and ability to recruit insects into shelters. Behaviorally active doses of the five substances were obtained for all three triatomine species. The bugs were significantly attracted to shelters baited with blends of 160 ng or 1.6 µg of each substance.

Conclusions/significance: Common compounds were found in the feces of vectors of Chagas disease that actively recruited insects into shelters, which suggests that this blend of compounds could be used for the development of baits for early detection of reinfestation with triatomine bugs.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Schematic drawing showing: A- the experimental arena used in the shelter assays and, B- a picture of an artificial refuge.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Abundance of odors detected in feces of triatomine bugs.
Abundance of acetic acid, 2,3-butanediol, 3-methylbutyric acid, acetamide and hexanoic acid identified in the feces of larvae during five days of sampling. A- T. infestans, B- P. megistus and C- T. brasiliensis. Only traces of acetamide were detected in feces of T. infestans.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Recruitment of bugs to shelters baited with synthetic blends.
Mean number of larvae of A- T. infestans, B- P. megistus and C- T. brasiliensis found inside experimental and control shelters after overnight assays in which mixtures of 16 ng, 160 ng or 1.6 µg of each compound were tested in association with one (test shelter) of two shelters offered. Error bars represent the standard errors of the means. Asterisks indicate significant differences in Wilcoxon signed rank test.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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