Larval nutritional stress affects vector life history traits and human malaria transmission.
Exposure to stress during an insect's larval development can have carry-over effects on adult life history traits and susceptibility to pathogens. We investigated the effects of larval nutritional stress for the first time using field mosquito vectors and malaria parasites. In contrast to previous studies, we show that larval nutritional stress may affect human to mosquito transmission antagonistically: nutritionally deprived larvae showed lower parasite prevalence for only one gametocyte carrier; they also had lower fecundity. However, they had greater survival rates that were even higher when infected. When combining these opposing effects into epidemiological models, we show that larval nutritional stress induced a decrease in malaria transmission at low mosquito densities and an increase in transmission at high mosquito densities, whereas transmission by mosquitoes from well-fed larvae was stable. Our work underscores the importance of including environmental stressors towards understanding host-parasite dynamics to improve disease transmission models and control.
MIVEGEC (Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs: Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle), UMR IRD 224-CNRS 5290-UM, Montpellier, France.|Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS), 01BP171 Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.
Amélie
A
Vantaux
MIVEGEC (Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs: Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle), UMR IRD 224-CNRS 5290-UM, Montpellier, France.|Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS), 01BP171 Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.
Thierry
T
Lefèvre
MIVEGEC (Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs: Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle), UMR IRD 224-CNRS 5290-UM, Montpellier, France.|Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS), 01BP171 Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.
Anna
A
Cohuet
Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS), 01BP171 Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.|Centre Muraz, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.
Kounbobr Roch
KR
Dabiré
UMMISCO (Unité de Modélisation Mathématique et Informatique des Systèmes Complexes), UMI IRD/UPMC 209, Bondy, France.
Benjamin
B
Roche
MIVEGEC (Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs: Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle), UMR IRD 224-CNRS 5290-UM, Montpellier, France.|Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS), 01BP171 Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.
Olivier
O
Roux
D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000254:growth & development / Q000469:parasitology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development / Q000469:parasitology; D000071421:Life History Traits; D008288:Malaria / Q000635:transmission*; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000254:growth & development*; D013312:Stress, Physiological