Author(s)

Alexandre Paulo Machado¹, Liliana Alves Correa¹, Gabriel de Paula Albuquerque¹, Ana Lúcia Maria Ribeiro², Rosina Djunko Miyazaki², Jéssica da Silva Gava², Dyego Bichofre Cruz²

¹Laboratory of Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso, Brazil.
²Laboratory of Entomology, Institute of Biosciences, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso, Brazil.

The effectiveness of current control measures against Aedes mosquitoes remains low, resulting in persistent epidemics in urban areas. The emergence of resistant mosquito populations to chemical insecticides highlights the need for novel, environmentally friendly, cost-effective control strategies. This study explored the potential of environmental bacterial isolates to biocontrol wild Aedes larvae. Initially, we collected bacterial samples from infectious masses of Aedes fluviatilis larvae. The isolated bacteria were identified using biochemical, enzymatic, and molecular methods, including 16S rRNA sequencing and MALDI-TOF. Previously, Aeromonas hydrophila and Bacillus thuringiensis isolated from these infectious masses showed limited Aedes larval inhibition. Consequently, we screened additional environmental isolates from the bacteriotheque. Six isolates previously identified were tested: Chromobacterium violaceum, Enterobacter cloacae, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus sphaericus, and two strains of Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis. Among these strains, B. thuringiensis and C. violaceum exhibited significant inhibitory activities against wild Aedes larvae. Bacillus thuringiensis cultures grown under daylight conditions showed a slight ability to inhibit Aedes larvae. The potential of B. thuringiensis and C. violaceum strains studied, along with optimized culture growth conditions, will be further investigated to develop bioinsecticide products to provide safer and more sustainable alternatives for controlling larvae of Aedes mosquitoes.

Bacillus thuringiensis, Chromobacterium violaceum, Aedes Biocontrol, Larval Inhibition

Machado, A. , Correa, L. , Albuquerque, G. , Ribeiro, A. , Miyazaki, R. , Gava, J. and Cruz, D. (2024) Screening of Environmental Bacterial Strains for Wild Aedes Mosquito Larval Biocontrol. Open Journal of Applied Sciences, 14, 2431-2442. doi: 10.4236/ojapps.2024.149160.