TY - JOUR
T1 - Capacity of mosquitoes to transmit malaria depends on larval environment
AU - Moller-Jacobs, Lillian L.
AU - Murdock, Courtney C.
AU - Thomas, Matthew B.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by NIH-R21 (AI096036-01) and NSF-GRFP #DGE1255832.
Funding Information:
We thank members of the Thomas and Read laboratory groups for discussion, Andrew Read for statistical analysis advice, J. Teeple for insectary support, and M. Jones, S. Blanford and D. Sim for laboratory assistance. This research was funded by NIH-R21 (AI096036-01) and NSF-GRFP #DGE1255832. This project was also assisted by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Health using Tobacco Settlement Funds. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or the National Institutes of Health.
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Background: Adult traits of holometabolous insects such as reproduction and survival can be shaped by conditions experienced during larval development. These "carry-over" effects influence not only individual life history and fitness, but can also impact interactions between insect hosts and parasites. Despite this, the implications of larval conditions for the transmission of human, wildlife and plant diseases that are vectored by insects remain poorly understood. Methods: We used Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes and the rodent malaria, Plasmodium yoelii yoelii, to investigate whether quality of larval habitat influenced vectorial capacity of adult mosquitoes. Larvae were reared under two dietary conditions; one group received a diet commonly used for colony maintenance (0.3 mg/individual/day of Tetrafin fish food) while the other group received a reduced food diet (0.1 mg/individual/day). Upon emergence, adults were provided an infectious blood feed. We assessed the effects of diet on a range of larval and adult traits including larval development times and survival, number of emerging adults, adult body size and survival, gonotrophic cycle length, and mating success. We also estimated the effects of larval diet on parasite infection rates and growth kinetics within the adult mosquitoes. Results: Larval dietary regime affected larval survival and development, as well as size, reproductive success and survival of adult mosquitoes. Larval diet also affected the intensity of initial Plasmodium infection (oocyst stage) and parasite replication, but without differences in overall infection prevalence at either the oocyst or sporozoite stage. Conclusions: Together, the combined effects led to a relative reduction in vectorial capacity (a measure of the transmission potential of a mosquito population) in the low food treatment of 70%. This study highlights the need to consider environmental variation at the larval stages to better understand transmission dynamics and control of vectorborne diseases.
AB - Background: Adult traits of holometabolous insects such as reproduction and survival can be shaped by conditions experienced during larval development. These "carry-over" effects influence not only individual life history and fitness, but can also impact interactions between insect hosts and parasites. Despite this, the implications of larval conditions for the transmission of human, wildlife and plant diseases that are vectored by insects remain poorly understood. Methods: We used Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes and the rodent malaria, Plasmodium yoelii yoelii, to investigate whether quality of larval habitat influenced vectorial capacity of adult mosquitoes. Larvae were reared under two dietary conditions; one group received a diet commonly used for colony maintenance (0.3 mg/individual/day of Tetrafin fish food) while the other group received a reduced food diet (0.1 mg/individual/day). Upon emergence, adults were provided an infectious blood feed. We assessed the effects of diet on a range of larval and adult traits including larval development times and survival, number of emerging adults, adult body size and survival, gonotrophic cycle length, and mating success. We also estimated the effects of larval diet on parasite infection rates and growth kinetics within the adult mosquitoes. Results: Larval dietary regime affected larval survival and development, as well as size, reproductive success and survival of adult mosquitoes. Larval diet also affected the intensity of initial Plasmodium infection (oocyst stage) and parasite replication, but without differences in overall infection prevalence at either the oocyst or sporozoite stage. Conclusions: Together, the combined effects led to a relative reduction in vectorial capacity (a measure of the transmission potential of a mosquito population) in the low food treatment of 70%. This study highlights the need to consider environmental variation at the larval stages to better understand transmission dynamics and control of vectorborne diseases.
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U2 - 10.1186/s13071-014-0593-4
DO - 10.1186/s13071-014-0593-4
M3 - Article
C2 - 25496502
AN - SCOPUS:84989195987
SN - 1756-3305
VL - 7
JO - Parasites and Vectors
JF - Parasites and Vectors
IS - 1
M1 - 593
ER -