The Effects of Infection on Mosquito Rhythmic Behavior

Abstract

Most organisms live in a rhythmic world, where daily environmental variation has a profound effect on their behavior and physiology. In addition to abiotic influence , interactions with other organisms that have their own particular cycles are also part of circadian rhythm formation. In this chapter, we present aspects of the biology of mosquito vectors, more precisely Aedes aegypti, which is a vector of arbo-viruses of great epidemiological importance, like dengue, Zika, and chikungunya. The successful transmission of the virus depends on the coordination of several behavioral and physiological traits involved in the virus-vector-host interaction. Thus, understanding the mechanisms of endogenous control of rhythmic traits of the mosquito vector and the impact that both environmental variation and virus infection can have on this regulation is key for a reliable estimate of the vectorial capacity. We discuss the infection-driven changes in traits used to calculate parameters of the vectorial capacity, and finally, we review the current knowledge on the molecular mechanisms underlying vector rhythmic behavior and the potential cellular targets of arbovirus infection.