Dengue fever is a prevalent and rapidly spreading disease. It is best controlled by controlling its vectors. Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are the primary and secondary worldwide vectors respectively, which are bred in peridomestic man-made water containers. Biological control is the most effective and sustainable method as there is no resurgence effect and does not harm humans. Our study includes the use of extracellular proteins of Xenorhabdus nematophilus, a gram negative bacterium widely used as biocontrol agents belonging to the family enterobacteriaceae. The mortality rates of IVth instar larvae Aedes aegypti when treated with 250 µg of extracellular proteins of Xenorhabdus nematophilus recorded to be 40% after 72h of exposure. The rate of mortality was observed minimum even at higher concentration. Optimization of the medium through Response Surface Methodology showed that there was an increase in the production of extra cellular proteins. These proteins played a very important role in the control of Aedes aegypti. The rate of mortality was recorded to be 92% when treated with 200 µg of extracellular proteins within 48h of treatment. Our research proved that the media optimization enhanced the production of extracellular proteins in the Xenorhabdus nematophilus and it can be used as a bio control agent for the control of Dengue vector.
Key words: Xenorhabdus nematophilus, Extracellular Proteins, Dengue Vector.
|