Maternal environment shapes the life history and susceptibility to malaria of Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes

Malaria Journal

Research

Jacob C Koella¹  Lena M Lorenz² 

[1] Division of Biology, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, SL5 7PY, Ascot, UK;Division of Biology, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, SL5 7PY, Ascot, UK;Department of Disease Control, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, WC1E 7HT, London, UK;

关键词: Maternal effects;    Anopheles gambiae;    Malaria;    Immune priming;    Host-parasite relationships;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1475-2875-10-382

 received in 2011-10-18, accepted in 2011-12-21,  发布年份 2011

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundIt is becoming generally recognized that an individual's phenotype can be shaped not only by its own genotype and environmental experience, but also by its mother's environment and condition. Maternal environmental factors can influence mosquitoes' population dynamics and susceptibility to malaria, and therefore directly and indirectly the epidemiology of malaria.MethodsIn a full factorial experiment, the effects of two environmental stressors - food availability and infection with the microsporidian parasite Vavraia culicis - of female mosquitoes (Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto) on their offspring's development, survival and susceptibility to malaria were studied.ResultsThe offspring of A. gambiae s.s. mothers infected with V. culicis developed into adults more slowly than those of uninfected mothers. This effect was exacerbated when mothers were reared on low food. Maternal food availability had no effect on the survival of their offspring up to emergence, and microsporidian infection decreased survival only slightly. Low food availability for mothers increased and V. culicis-infection of mothers decreased the likelihood that the offspring fed on malaria-infected blood harboured malaria parasites (but neither maternal treatment influenced their survival up to dissection).ConclusionsResource availability and infection with V. culicis of A. gambiae s.s. mosquitoes not only acted as direct environmental stimuli for changes in the success of one generation, but could also lead to maternal effects. Maternal V. culicis infection could make offspring more resistant and less likely to transmit malaria, thus enhancing the efficacy of the microsporidian for the biological control of malaria.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Lorenz and Koella; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011