Assessment of mosquito insecticidal activity of bacterial extracts produced by Colombian strains

Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are the major vectors for the transmission of more than 30 disease-causing viruses as dengue fever, dengue hemorragic fever, zika, yellow fever and chikungunya. Vector control is one of the important strategies used in order to fight these diseases in tropical and subtropical countries. However, mosquito control is facing a threat because of the emergence of resistance to synthetic insecticides. The aim of this study was to identify larvicidal and adulticidal activity of secondary metabolites in extracts produced by bacteria isolated from different sources in Colombia. A total of 105 extracts produced from the same number of bacteria were evaluated for their activity against fourth instar larvae and adults of A. aegypti and A. albopictus using standard protocols defined for the WHO (World Health Organization) and CDC (Control Disease Centre, USA). Six extracts showed relevant activity (more than 50% of mosquito larvae were killed after 48 hours), two of them showed to be actives against larvae of Aedes aegypti and four against larvae of Aedes albopictus. None of the extracts showed activity against the mosquitoes in adult stage. The bacteria producing active extracts were identified using the biolog ® identification system as Serratia marcescens ss marcescens, Escherichia hermannii, Serratia marcescens ss marcescens, Bacillus marisflavi, Bacillus atropheus/subtilis and Pseudomonas chlororaphis subsp. aurantiaca. In conclusion, bacterial extracts are a good source for the search of new strategies in the control of mosquitoes. Further studies to determine the compound responsible for the insecticidal activity are in progress.