Both infected and uninfected mosquitoes are attracted toward malaria infected birds

Malaria Journal

Research

Sylvain Gandon¹  Antoine Nicot²  Stéphane Cornet²  Ana Rivero³ 

[1] Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), UMR CNRS 5175, Montpellier, France;Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), UMR CNRS 5175, Montpellier, France;Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs: Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle (MIVEGEC), UMR CNRS 5290-IRD 224-UM1-UM2, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, 911 av. Agropolis, 34394, Montpellier, France;Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs: Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle (MIVEGEC), UMR CNRS 5290-IRD 224-UM1-UM2, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, 911 av. Agropolis, 34394, Montpellier, France;

关键词: Plasmodium relictum;    Malaria;    Vector behaviour;    Attractiveness;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1475-2875-12-179

 received in 2013-04-17, accepted in 2013-05-27,  发布年份 2013

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe biting behaviour of mosquitoes is crucial for the transmission of malaria parasites. This study focuses on the feeding behaviour of Culex pipiens mosquitoes with regard to the infection status by the avian malaria parasite Plasmodium relictum (lineage SGS1).MethodsUninfected and sporozoite-infected mosquitoes were provided with a choice between an uninfected bird and a bird undergoing a chronic P. relictum infection. Mosquito choice is assessed by microsatellite typing of the ingested blood.ResultsChronically infected birds are more attractive to mosquitoes. This choice is not altered by the infection status of the mosquitoes: both infected and uninfected mosquitoes have similar host choice behaviours and are more attracted towards infected birds.ConclusionsThese results support some, but not all predictions derived from the hypothesis that malaria parasites can manipulate the behaviour of their mosquito vectors to enhance their transmission. The possible mechanisms driving this manipulation, the evolutionary dynamics leading to the modification of the biting behaviour of mosquitoes by Plasmodium sp. as well as the implications for malaria epidemiology are discussed.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Cornet et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2013