Larval food quantity affects the capacity of adult mosquitoes to transmit human malaria.

ABSTRACT: Adult traits of holometabolous insects are shaped by conditions experienced during larval development, which might impact interactions between adult insect hosts and parasites. However, the ecology of larval insects that vector disease remains poorly understood. Here, we used Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes and the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, to investigate whether larval conditions affect the capacity of adult mosquitoes to transmit malaria. We reared larvae in two groups; one group received a standard laboratory rearing diet, whereas the other received a reduced diet. Emerging adult females were then provided an infectious blood meal. We assessed mosquito longevity, parasite development rate and prevalence of infectious mosquitoes over time. Reduced larval food led to in

SUBMITTER: Shapiro LL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4947883 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature