A Nonlive Preparation of Chromobacterium sp. Panama (Csp_P) Is a Highly Effective Larval Mosquito Biopesticide

Abstract

We have developed a novel preparation to kill mosquitoes from an abundant soil bacterium, Chromobacterium sp. Panama. This preparation is an air-dried powder containing no live bacteria, and it can be incorporated into an attractive bait and fed directly to mosquito larvae. We demonstrate that the preparation has broad spectrum activity against the larval form of the mosquitoes responsible for the transmission of malaria and the dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, West Nile, and Zika viruses, as well as mosquito larvae that are already resistant to commonly used mosquitocidal chemicals. Our preparation possesses many favorable traits: it kills at a low dosage, and it does not lose activity when exposed to high temperatures, all of which suggest that this preparation could eventually become an effective new tool for controlling mosquitoes and the diseases they spread.