Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
Parasit Vectors. 2024 May 16;17(1):227. doi: 10.1186/s13071-024-06299-1.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are chemicals emitted as products of cell metabolism, which reflects the physiological and pathological conditions of any living organisms. These compounds play a key role as olfactory cues for arthropod vectors such as mosquitoes, sand flies, and ticks, which act in the transmission of pathogens to many animal species, including humans. Some VOCs may influence arthropod behaviour, e.g., host preference and oviposition site selection for gravid females. Furthermore, deadly vector-borne pathogens such as Plasmodium falciparum and Leishmania infantum are suggested to manipulate the VOCs profile of the host to make them more attractive to mosquitoes and sand fly vectors, respectively. Under the above circumstances, studies on these compounds have demonstrated their potential usefulness for investigating the behavioural response of mosquitoes, sand flies, and ticks toward their vertebrate hosts, as well as potential tools for diagnosis of vector-borne diseases (VBDs). Herein, we provide an account for scientific data available on VOCs to study the host seeking behaviour of arthropod vectors, and their usefulness as attractants, repellents, or tools for an early diagnosis of VBDs.
挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）是细胞代谢产物中排放的化学物质，反映了任何生物体的生理和病理状况。这些化合物作为嗅觉线索，对蚊子、沙蝇和蜱等节肢动物传播媒介起着关键作用，能将病原体传播给包括人类在内的许多动物物种。一些 VOCs 可能会影响节肢动物的行为，例如，对宿主的偏好和产卵地点的选择。此外，致命的媒介传播病原体，如恶性疟原虫和利什曼原虫，被认为可以操纵宿主的 VOCs 特征，使它们对蚊子和沙蝇传播媒介更具吸引力。在上述情况下，对这些化合物的研究表明，它们具有研究蚊子、沙蝇和蜱对其脊椎动物宿主的行为反应的潜在用途，并且是诊断媒介传播疾病（VBDs）的潜在工具。在此，我们提供了有关 VOCs 的科学数据，以研究节肢动物传播媒介的宿主寻找行为，以及它们作为引诱剂、驱避剂或早期诊断 VBDs 的工具的有用性。
