Microbial Mediation of Habitat Selection and Production

描述：（由申请人提供）：在撒哈拉以南非洲， 疟疾是由于暴露于蚊子的传染性叮咬，特别是 冈比亚按蚊有一个高度的异质性的数量， 传染性叮咬，居住在流行地区的人， 量化并最终降低传播强度的意义。 我们假设这种异质性是由于成年人的聚集生产， 蚊子从幼虫栖息地，这是一个功能的产卵地点 选择和幼虫栖息地生产。我们认为，这两个过程 是由幼虫栖息地的微生物介导的。雌蚊 会选择释放挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）的产卵地点， 是由蛋白质的微生物代谢产生的（到吲哚及其 衍生物）和腐殖酸（到酚类化合物）。其次，我们将量化 营养物质的微生物加工和幼虫中微生物生物量的积累 栖息地，并将其与成人生产联系起来。我们认为 幼虫对营养有限的微生物食物的竞争 资源将限制成年生产，并将导致紧急女性 可变的，次优的体重和营养储备。这些因素将在 转影响人口调节过程和矢量容量属性 在安。冈比亚人口。方法将涉及空间量化 在肯尼亚西部的Asembo湾研究地点， 对疟疾流行区进行了全面测绘和深入研究。微生物介导 产卵地点的选择将研究通过表征的 微生物群落和挥发性有机物排放的GC/MS。GC/MS-触角电位图 挥发性有机化合物的检测，以及微生物产卵地点的实验选择 和挥发性有机化合物被操纵。幼虫栖息地生产的微生物基础将是 通过田间和实验室实验进行研究， 群落是量化的，操纵和幼虫的生长反应和成人 产量量化。

DESCRIPTION: (provided by the applicant): In subSaharan Africa, the risk of malaria is due to exposure to infectious bites of mosquitoes, particularly Anopheles gambiae. There is a high degree of heterogeneity in the number of infectious bites that peoplewho live in endemic areas receive, which has implications for quantifying and ultimately reducing intensity of transmission. We hypothesize that this heterogeneity is due to aggregated production of adult mosquitoes from larval habitats, which is a function of oviposition site selection and larval habitat production. We believe that both of these processes are mediated by microorganisms that occur in larval habitats. Female mosquitoes will choose oviposition sites that emit volatile organic compounds(VOCs), which are generated by microbial metabolism of proteins (to indole and its derivatives) and humic acids (to phenolics). Secondly, we will quantify microbial processing of nutrients and accrual of microbial biomass in larval habitats, and link them to adult production. We believe that density-dependentlarval competition for nutrient-limited microbial food resources will limit adult production and will result in emergent females of variable, suboptimal body masses and nutrient reserves. These factors will in turn affect population regulatory processes and vectorial capacity attributes in An. Gambiae populations. Methods will involve spatial quantification of productive larval habitats in the Asembo Bay study site in western Kenya, a thoroughly mapped and well studied malaria endemic area. Microbial-mediation of oviposition site selection will be studied through characterization of the microbial community and emitted VOCs using GC/MS. GC/MS-electroantennogram detection of VOCs, and experimental oviposition site selection where microbes and VOCs are manipulated. Microbial basis for larval habitat production will be studied with field and lab experiments where nutrient sources and microbial communities are quantified, manipulated and larval growth responses and adult production quantified.