Landscape and mosquito community impact the avian Plasmodium infection in Culex pipiens.

ABSTRACT: Avian malaria parasites provide an important model for studying host-pathogen interactions, yet understanding their dynamics in vectors under natural conditions is limited. We investigated the effect of vector abundance, species richness and diversity, and habitat characteristics on avian Plasmodium prevalence and lineage richness in Culex pipiens across 45 urban, natural, and rural localities in southern Spain. Analyzing 16,574 mosquitoes grouped in 768 mosquito pools, 32.7% exhibited parasite presence. 13 different Plasmodium lineages were identified, with the lineage SYAT05 being the most commonly found. Parasite prevalence positively correlated with the distance to saltmarshes and rivers, but negatively with the distance to total water source. Parasite linea

SUBMITTER: Ferraguti M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10906513 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature