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Mosquito Reproductive Capacity Model and the Impact of Different

Intervention Techniques Reveal That a Quantum Leap Biolarvicide Technology
Can Address This Global Challenge

Article · December 2013

DOI: 10.4172/2155-6202.1000e116

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Biofertilizers & Biopesticides
Editorial
Mosquito Reproductive Capacity Model and the Impact of Different Intervention
Techniques Reveal That a Quantum Leap Biolarvicide Technology Can Address
This Global Challenge
Manas Sarkar1*and Alan E. Brandt2
1
EntoGenex Industries Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2
EntoGenex Biotechnology LLC, North Carolina, USA
Keywords: Insecticide; Biopesticide; TMOF;Dengue; Vector borne
disease; Mosquito control; MOUSTIcide
Introduction
Mosquito-borne diseases, like Dengue and Malaria, have had a deep
impact globally, due to the serious risk to life that it poses to individuals
and communities that are exposed to these diseases[1].Dengue fever
(DF) is one of the most common widespread vector-borne diseases in
the world [2]. Currently, there are more than 2.5 billion people expose
to the risk of DF transmission [3]and approximately 100 million people
annually affected. Therefore, it is one of the world’s most important
mosquito-borne diseases, mainly in Southeast Asia, the Pacific, and
the Americas. The transmission area of these diseases expanding
continuously due to many direct and indirect factors linked to urban
sprawl, increased travel, and global warming.
Mosquito vectors, in particular the peridomestic species
Aedesaegypti [4] and Aedesalbopictus, transmit DF, which is expanded
recently as seen in its geographical distribution [5]. The geographical
areas in which dengue transmission occurs have expanded in recent
years, and all four dengue virus serotypes (DENV-1-4) are now
circulating between Asia, Africa and the Americas [6]. Current
preventative measures include mosquito control programs; there are
currently no vaccines available against dengue virus (DENV) [7-9].
Current and New Mosquito Control Strategies
Currently, the control of mosquitoes is mostly directed against
adults and only against larvae when necessary. During the larval stage,
mosquitoes are attractive targets for pesticides because they breed in
water and, thus, it is easy to handle them in this kind of environment.
Using the conventional chemical-based pesticides has resulted in the
development of resistance [10], undesirable effects on other organisms
and promoted human health and environmental concerns [11]. The
use of biocontrol is one of the best alternatives for mosquito control.
Generally, natural products are preferred because they are less harmful
to non-target organism and their biodegradability [12]. In the case
of Aedesaegypti, certain species of fish and predatory copepods have
been used to control Aedes mosquitoes [13-15]. A communication for
behavioral impact (COMBI) project has been implemented in districts
of Cambodia and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic to assess the
effectiveness of the intervention on a larger scale [16-17]. In Malaysia,
the Ministry of Health is adapting COMBI planning tools aimed at
behavioral change in several states in Peninsular Malaysia [18].
New vector control tools for Aedesaegypti population suppression
and replacement are currently under investigation. The Release of
Insects Carrying a Dominant Lethal (RIDL) system recently developed
for male Aedes mosquito [19]. Another approach has been developed
where naturally occurring endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbacteria
that can inhibit replication of the dengue virus was introduced into
wild populations of Aedesmosquitoes in order to suppress dengue
transmission [20]. But, these technologies do not address to the root
J Biofertil Biopestici
ISSN:2155-6202 JBFBP, an open access journal
Sarkar M and Brandt AE, J Biofertil Biopestici 2013, 4:2
http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2155-6202.1000e116
Open Access
of the problem - reproductive capacity of mosquitoes. The use of the
mosquito decapeptide, Trypsin Modulating Oostatic Factor (TMOF),
as a biolarvicide provides the novel approach for Aedes mosquito
population control by killing the larval stages [21-23]. TMOF is an insect
hormone originally isolated from the ovaries of adult Aedesaegypti
that regulates trypsin biosynthesis in the mosquito digestive system
[24]. Feeding study showed that TMOF can inhibit the growth and
development of mosquito larvae and leading to the death of larvae by
starvation [25].
Mosquito Reproduction Model
One of the major challenges of mosquito vectored disease control
is the widely acknowledged very large reproductive capacity of
mosquitoes.All past successful efforts to control mosquito populations
and mosquito vectored diseases has included some form control
of mosquito populations at the larval stage - whether by wetland
management, direct larviciding, molecular water surface films, etc.
However there is no quantitative recognition of the size of the mosquito
reproductive capacity challenge or any model to project the impact of
various mosquito control strategies.
Here we present a theoretical model of the reproductive capacity
of the Aedesaegypti mosquito based on the commonly accepted
reproductive pattern, namely that following emergence, a single female
mosquito will mate, take a blood meal within the first 24 hours, lay
her eggs (approximately 100, half of which are female) at about day 3,
egg hatching on day 4, larvae progress through the 4 instar stages in 4
days followed by pupation with emergence of the next adult population
on day 10 (Figure 1and 2 and Table 1).The model also incorporates
repeated blood meal feeding of the adult Aedes female mosquito a total
of 5 times during a 1 month lifetime (every 7 days: Day 0, 7, 14, 21 and
28) before expiring on day 31 after laying her last clutch of eggs.
The model allows for a variable number of newly emerging female
mosquitoes for the first 10 days (Day 0 - 9) and also incorporates a
survival percentage to scale the model for less than 100% survival
(Figure 3).After the initial 10 days, the established mosquito population
is self-perpetuating.With this model one can readily discern the scale of
the mosquito control challenge.
*Corresponding author: Dr. Manas Sarkar, EntoGenex Industries SdnBhd, D-3A-8,
Plaza Mont Kiara; 2, Jalan Mont Kiara; 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tel: +91-
9999483078, +601123056574; E-mail: manas_sarkar54491@yahoo.com
Received November 27, 2013; Accepted November 27, 2013; Published
December 04, 2013
Citation: Sarkar M, Brandt AE (2013) Mosquito Reproductive Capacity Model
and the Impact of Different Intervention Techniques Reveal That a Quantum Leap
Biolarvicide Technology Can Address This Global Challenge. J Biofertil Biopestici
4: e116. doi:10.4172/2155-6202.1000e116
Copyright: © 2013 Sarkar M, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and
source are credited.
Volume 4 • Issue 2 • 1000e116
Citation: Sarkar M, Brandt AE (2013) Mosquito Reproductive Capacity Model and the Impact of Different Intervention Techniques Reveal That a
Quantum Leap Biolarvicide Technology Can Address This Global Challenge. J Biofertil Biopestici 4: e116. doi:10.4172/2155-6202.1000e116

Page 2 of4

Although developed for the Aedesaegypti mosquito, the model

and results can be broadly applied to different mosquito populations,
namely Anophele ssp. and Culex sp., both significant vectors of human
diseases.

TMOF Technology and MOUSTICIDETM

Figure 1: Adult female mosquito reproduction represented by generations.
Controlling of mosquitoes is the only way to minimize worldwide
dengue burden. If larvae breeding is disrupted, adult mosquito
emergence can be curtailed and the entire lifecycle stopped. Here, we will
present a new biopesticide(MOUSTICIDETM) for use in public health to
control mosquitoes. It utilizes the novel TMOF (Trypsin Modulating
Oostatic Factor) peptide technology. The use of the peptide hormone,
Trypsin modulating oostatic factor (TMOF), as a pesticide, represents
a novel biorational approach to insect control using a new mode of
action different from that of Bti [21]. TMOF is an insect hormone
originally isolated from the ovaries of Aedesaegypti(Diptera: Culicidae)
that regulates trypsin biosynthesis in the mosquito digestive system
[24]. TMOF has been shown to inhibit the growth and development of
mosquito larvae feeding on this peptide, resulting in death by starvation
[25]. TMOF have been shown to inhibit trypsin biosynthesis in other
medically important insects, including the housefly, MuscadomesticaL
(Diptera: Muscidae), stable fly, Stomoxyscalcitrans L (Diptera:
Muscidae) and the cat flea, CtenocephalidesfelisBouche (Siphonaptera:

Figure 2: Reproductive capacity model of Aedesaegyptimosquitoes in

the most ideal condition when no control treatment done. The model is
based on 50 female mosquitoes/clutch of eggs every 7 days; 10 day adult
emergence cycle (3 days egg development, 7 days larval/pupae stage);
100% survival for 31 days.

Emergent Female Female Mosquitoes at Mosquito Densitym2/

Mosquitoes per Day Day-10 Mosquito*
1,000 10,000 1 Figure 3: Impact based on percentage of survival, from each clutch of egg,
100 1,000 10 on adult female mosquito population over 60 days time.
50 500 20
25 250 40
10 100 100
5 50 200
2 20 500
1 10 1,000
* Spread over one hectare area
Table 1: Female mosquito reproduction capacity depends on the initial starting
number of emergence per day from a five day.

The model further allows for evaluation of different mosquito

control intervention strategies, namely adulticiding and larviciding.
Figure 4 - 7 represents the impact of adulticiding and larviciding,
using Bti and MOUSTIcideTM, on female mosquito population based
on our reproductive capacity model. Here, please note that we have
taken 5% survival/emergence rate for all intervention calculations.
The efficacy and duration of each intervention strategy can be scaled
between 0 -100% and the resultant impact on the adult female mosquito
population determined from Figure 4-7. Figure 7:Impact of repeated
application of MOUSTIcide™, in every 21 days, on number of adult Figure 4: Impact of adulticiding on number of adult female mosquitoes at
Day-60 based on different level of efficacy.
female mosquitoes at Day-60

J Biofertil Biopestici
ISSN:2155-6202 JBFBP, an open access journal Volume 4 • Issue 2 • 1000e116
Citation: Sarkar M, Brandt AE (2013) Mosquito Reproductive Capacity Model and the Impact of Different Intervention Techniques Reveal That a
Quantum Leap Biolarvicide Technology Can Address This Global Challenge. J Biofertil Biopestici 4: e116. doi:10.4172/2155-6202.1000e116
Figure 5: Impact of Btiwith 7 days residual effect, on number of adult
female mosquitoes at Day-60.
Figure 6: Impact of MOUSTIcide™ with 28 days residual effect, on number
of adult female mosquitoes at Day-60
Figure 7: Impact of repeated application of MOUSTIcide™, in every 21
days, on number of adult female mosquitoes at Day-60
J Biofertil Biopestici
ISSN:2155-6202 JBFBP, an open access journal
Page 3 of4
Publicidae)[26]. TMOF can be easily engineered for high expression in
recombinant bacteria. We are presenting the effects of TMOF fermented
with yeast cells, TMOF and Btiwettable powder, the combination of
TMOF and Bti in rice husk form as super larvicides against the dengue
vector, Ae. aegypti. It offers some unique advantages over the existing
chemical pesticides. These are: high efficacy (250 times than the nearest
competitor), lower cost, target specific to all stages of larvae instars for
all mosquito larvae species, longevity (4 weeks vs. competitors’ one
week), resistance proof, environment safe and biodegradable. Based
on the above mentioned theoretical model of mosquito reproduction,
with a repeated application of MOUSTIcide™, in every 21 days we can
achieve 100% reduction of number of adult female mosquitoes at Day-
60 (Figure 7).
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Volume 4 • Issue 2 • 1000e116
Citation: Sarkar M, Brandt AE (2013) Mosquito Reproductive Capacity Model and the Impact of Different Intervention Techniques Reveal That a
Quantum Leap Biolarvicide Technology Can Address This Global Challenge. J Biofertil Biopestici 4: e116. doi:10.4172/2155-6202.1000e116
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Citation: Sarkar M, Brandt AE (2013) Mosquito Reproductive Capacity Model
and the Impact of Different Intervention Techniques Reveal That a Quantum
Leap Biolarvicide Technology Can Address This Global Challenge. J Biofertil
Biopestici 4: e116. doi:10.4172/2155-6202.1000e116
J Biofertil Biopestici
ISSN:2155-6202 JBFBP, an open access journal
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