title: Rodent malaria parasites Plasmodium chabaudi and P. vinckei do not increase their rates of gametocytogenesis in response to mosquito probing.
abstract: Several vector-borne infectious agents facultatively alter their life history strategies in response to local vector densities. Some evidence suggests that malaria parasites invest more heavily in transmission stage production (gametocytogenesis) when vectors are present. Such a strategy could rapidly increase malaria transmission rates, particularly when adult mosquitoes begin to appear after dry seasons. However, in contrast to a recent experiment with a rodent malaria (Plasmodium chabaudi), we found no change in gametocytogenesis in either P. chabaudi or in another rodent malaria, P. vinckei, when their mouse hosts were exposed to mosquitoes. Positive results in the earlier study may have been because mosquito-feeding caused anaemia in hosts, a known promoter of gametocytogenesis. The substantial evidence that malaria and a variety of other parasites facultatively alter transmission strategies in response to a variety of environmental influences makes our results surprising.
authors.affiliation: Acadia University, Department of Biology, Wolfville, NS, Canada B4P 2R6. dave.shutler@acadiau.ca
authors.forename: Dave
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shutler
authors.forename: Sarah E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Reece
authors.forename: Adele
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mullie
authors.forename: Peter F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Billingsley
authors.forename: Andrew F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Read
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D009033:Culicidae / Q000502:physiology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005718:Gametogenesis / Q000502:physiology*; D008288:Malaria / Q000469:parasitology*; D051379:Mice; D010961:Plasmodium / Q000502:physiology*; D012377:Rodentia / Q000469:parasitology*; D012744:Sex Ratio; D013997:Time Factors