New Delhi, Nov 5 (IANS): In a breakthrough research, UK scientists have identified a bacteria that can curb the growth of disease-spreading mosquitoes.

The team from the universities of Exeter and Wageningen showed that mosquito larvae grow faster if they’re exposed to Asaia bacteria and could help global health programmes in curbing diseases like dengue, yellow fever, and Zika, caused by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

The study, published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology, showed that Asaia accelerated development time by a day. This, the team said, could boost mass-rearing schemes that need to produce millions of adult mosquitoes.

Previously, anti-disease programmes have been used to breed and release non-biting male mosquitoes that are either sterile or prevent the transmission of diseases. These mass-release programmes are substantially more effective than the widespread spraying of insecticides, as these insects have developed resistance to many commonly employed chemicals.

“Asaia bacteria have been suggested as beneficial parts of mosquito microbiomes, but this has never been rigorously tested in Aedes aegypti,” said Professor Ben Raymond, of the Centre for Ecology and Conservation on the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus in Cornwall.

“We know that Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae can’t develop at all without a microbiome, and our study shows two Asaia species can play a beneficial role,” Raymond added.

The larval period of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes usually lasts about 10 days, so accelerating by a day could be a valuable boost to mass production, the researchers said.

In the study, they added Asaia bacteria to the water where mosquito larvae developed.

They found two particular species that accelerated larval development.

While the mechanism remains unclear, it does not appear that these bacteria provided direct nutritional benefits, rather, they changed the wider bacterial community, the team said.

This reduced the abundance of certain bacteria, including some species that may be slightly parasitic. Asaia bacteria also remove oxygen – creating conditions that produce hormones to promote development, the researchers said.