Chemical analysis of mucus and trail-following behavior of Oncomelania hupensis quadrasi

• Main Author: Benedicto, Jody M.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2022
• Subjects: Schistosomiasis; Schistosoma japonicum; Biology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_bio/17
• Institution: De La Salle University

Schistosomiasis is one of the most prevalent parasitic diseases next to malaria infecting 200 million people worldwide and causing 200,000 deaths every year. In the Philippines, the snail Oncomelania hupensis quadrasi is the only known intermediate host of the blood fluke Schistosoma japonicum. The schistosome requires the snails for its larval development from miracidium to cercariae through a series of asexual reproduction. Since, the O. h. quadrasi is important in the development of the parasite, snail control is the target of studies pursuing novel ways in controlling schistosomiasis. One of the strategies to reduce the population of the snail intermediate host is by disrupting their mating patterns using sex pheromones. Unfortunately, specific sex pheromones of O. h. quadrasi snails are still unknown. Hence, the purpose of the study was to assess the trail-following behavior of O. h. quadrasi using T-maze bioassays and to chemically characterize the mucus to search for potential sex pheromones using headspace analysis coupled with gas chromatography mass- spectrometry (GC-MS). In the study, adult (>3mm) males, females, and juvenile (O. h. quadrasi followed the female mucus at a significantly higher intensity (p. The results of the study support that the sex pheromones of the O. h. quadrasi are incorporated into mucus trails and trail-following behavior aids in their reproductive process. Sex pheromones can alter or manipulate the reproductive behavior of an organism. Thus, they can be used as an innovative strategy to control the intermediate host population of Schistosoma japonicum. Specifically, sex pheromones can be utilized in the monitoring, mass-trapping, and mating disruption of the snails.