Date of Award

2009

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Clore, Amy

Keywords

Entomopathogens, Fungi, Medicine, Tropical Disease

Area of Concentration

Biology

Abstract

Tropical diseases sicken millions of people annually. Insect vector control is imperative for improving the quality of life for those at risk of contracting tropical diseases by reducing incidences of tropical disease. However, current vector control programs could be at the brink of failure because chemical insecticides provide a substantial portion of modern-day control measures, but incidence of insect resistance completely threatens their effectiveness (Kuile et al. 2003; Gullan and Cranston 2005; O'Reilly et al. 2006). New control methods and agents must be discovered, researched, and implemented, or the number of tropical disease cases will likely soar (Lacey et al. 2001; Mohanty et al. 2007. Biological control agents could be an essential part of these much needed new control methods. Fungal biological agents comprise one of many types of biological control agents, and these are explored and reviewed in this thesis for their effectiveness in reducing populations of mosquitoes, triatomines, and tsetse and sand flies. These insects vectors carry malaria, viral hemorrhagic fevers, arbovirus encephalitis, Chikungunya fever, O'nyong-nyong, lymphatic filariasis, Chagas disease, African sleeping sickness, leishmaniasis, Bartonellosis, and other less common and widespread diseases. Entomopathogenic fungi provide a multi-dimensional approach to insect control. They contain several destructive compounds that assist hyphal penetration of the insect cuticle. Two species in particular, Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana have been researched extensively and could significantly aid in vector control; however, many different entomopathogenic fungal species exist and with proper research, some of these could become crucial in vector control methods (Scholte et. al 2004; Lacey et. al 2001). Any use of pathogens must be undertaken with care to avoid unintended and unwanted effects on environmental and human health. Ultimately, evidence suggests that perhaps the most sensible use of entomopathogenic fungi would be in a multi-faceted control plan. Such a plan could use as many available control techniques as possible, including physically minimizing insect habitats, using several different chemical pesticides in rotation, using insect repellants and barriers such as mosquito netting, and applying an array of biological control agents including fungal agents. This is known as Integrative Vector Management and will likely provide the most successful tropical disease control measures possible, based upon current research.

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