The behavioral influence of fungal endophytes on yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti)

Plants are known to produce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can act as an attractant or repellant for various insects. Some studies that endophytic fungi benefit the host plants by releasing volatiles that influence insect behavior mimicking host-associated cues. While both male and female insects are influenced by VOCs, females are reported to have a stronger response to plant volatiles than males. The volatiles produced by plants and the endophytic fungi could have a significant impact in influencing the oviposition behavior of pests such as mosquitoes. Graminoid plants, which have a strong association with fungal endophytes, are known to release volatiles which attract gravid mosquitoes. However, the role of fungal endophytes in attracting these mosquitoes is largely unknown. The aim of this project is to determine whether the fungal endophytes colonizing the roots of invasive grasses influence the behavior of yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti) using a four port olfactometer. Preliminary results indicate that there is a higher average of mosquitoes residing in the chambers containing plants treated with endophytic fungi as opposed to the non-treated plants (P< 0.0001). This suggests that endophytic fungi are emitting volatiles that are potentially attracting gravid mosquitoes. This may indicate that the presence of invasive species may increase the incidence of vector-borne diseases. This is an ongoing study, and we will present the results at the conference.