Descrizione del progetto
Allestire un banchetto di zanzare
Secondo l’Organizzazione mondiale della sanità, le zanzare sono tra le creature più letali della natura. Esse diffondono malattie, uccidendo milioni di persone ogni anno. Sebbene possa sembrare relativamente semplice avere conoscenza dei comportamenti alimentari delle zanzare, in realtà ciò si è rivelato abbastanza difficile in gran parte a causa della mancanza di una tecnologia adeguata. Tutto sta cambiando grazie a una pelle umana ingegnerizzata, trasparente e sotto osservazione attraverso sofisticate immagini quantitative e visione computerizzata. Il progetto PiQiMosqBite prevede di gettare l’esca, invitando le zanzare a cenare sulla pelle e sulla vascolarizzazione biomimetica. L’immaginografia ad alta tecnologia consentirà agli scienziati di valutare come le zanzare infette si comportano, elaborano segnali sensoriali e iniettano la saliva per ottenere indizi sulla prevenzione della diffusione delle malattie.
Obiettivo
Mosquitoes serve as vectors for diseases including dengue and malaria, for which half the world's population is at risk. Mosquito-borne pathogens are transmitted during blood feeding, yet despite its crucial role in pathogen transmission, blood feeding behavior remains ill understood. The sensory integration of physical and chemical cues on the skin and below its surface, and the effect of pathogen infection on blood feeding are poorly characterized. These knowledge gaps are due to a lack of tools to quantitatively study blood feeding behavior. To overcome these limitations, I propose an innovative approach to study blood feeding by leveraging quantitative imaging, computer vision, and an engineered human skin mimic to create a high-throughput behavioral assay. Imaging mosquitoes feeding on a transparent skin mimic will enable the detailed characterization of the behavioral trajectory leading to blood feeding while simultaneously allowing the analysis of biting dynamics by imaging the expectoration of saliva. To unravel the behavioral effects of pathogen infection, I will compare blood feeding by non-infected Aedes aegypti (the main dengue vector) and Anopheles gambiae (an important malaria vector) with their dengue virus and Plasmodium falciparum infected counterparts. Next, I will use microfabricaton to embed artificial vasculature in the skin mimic to dissect the sensory cue integration underlying blood feeding. I will characterize the biting dynamics of mutant Aedes aegypti deficient in various sensory pathways feeding on skin mimics that present a defined set of cues. By combining my skills in biophysics with the host labs expertise in mosquito-pathogen interactions, this project will provide a deep understanding of the neurobiology underlying blood feeding by mosquitoes, and the effect that pathogen infections may have on this behavior. Elucidating the transmission of mosquito-borne pathogens will provide valuable insights to combat mosquito-borne diseases.
Campo scientifico
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesneurobiology
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesinfectious diseasesRNA viruses
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesinfectious diseasesmalaria
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesartificial intelligencecomputer vision
- natural sciencesbiological scienceszoologyinvertebrate zoology
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinatore
75724 Paris
Francia