Mosquito larvicidal and pupaecidal potential of prodigiosin from Serratia marcescens and understanding its mechanism of action

Abstract Mosquitoes spread lethal diseases like malaria and dengue fever to humans. Considering mosquito vector control as one of the best alternatives to reduce new infections, here we have analyzed the effect of purified pigment prodigiosin extracted from Serratia marcescens (NMCC 75) against larval and pupal stages of Aedes aegypti and Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes. Mosquito larvicidal activities of purified prodigiosin revealed LC 50 values of 14 ± 1.2, 15.6 ± 1.48, 18 ± 1.3, 21 ± 0.87 µg/ml against early IInd, IIIrd, IVth instar and pupal stages of Ae. aegypti , respectively. LC 50 values for An. stephensi were found to be 19.7 ± 1.12, 24.7 ± 1.47, 26.6 ± 1.67, 32.2 ± 1.79 µg/ml against early IInd, IIIrd, IVth instar and pupae of An. stephensi , respectively. Further investigations toward understanding modes of action revealed variations in the activities of esterases, acetylcholine esterases, phosphatases, proteases and total proteins in the fourth instar larvae of Ae. aegypti indicating intrinsic difference in biochemical features due to prodigiosin treatment. Although there was no inhibition of enzymes like catalase and oxidase but may have profound inhibitory effect on carbonic anhydrase or H + -V-ATPase which is indicated by change in the pH of midgut and caeca of mosquito larvae. This reduced pH may be possibly due to the proton pump inhibitory activity of prodigiosin. Pure prodigiosin can prove to be an important molecule for mosquito control at larval and pupal stages of Ae. aegypti and An. stephensi . This is the first report on the mosquito pupaecidal activity of prodigiosin and its possible mechanism of action.