Data from: Plant-mediated effects on mosquito capacity to transmit human malaria

The ecological context in which mosquitoes and malaria parasites interact has received little attention, compared to the genetic and molecular aspects of malaria transmission. Plant nectar and fruits are important for the nutritional ecology of malaria vectors, but how the natural diversity of plant-derived sugar sources affects mosquito competence for malaria parasites is unclear. To test this, we infected Anopheles coluzzi, an important African malaria vector, with sympatric field isolates of Plasmodium falciparum, using direct membrane feeding assays. Through a series of experiments, we then examined the effects of sugar meals from Thevetia neriifolia and Barleria lupilina cuttings that included flowers, and fruit from Lannea microcarpa and Mangifera indica on parasite and mosquito traits that are key for determining the intensity of malaria transmission. We found that the source of plant sugar meal differentially affected infection prevalence and intensity, the development duration of the parasites, as well as the survival and fecundity of the vector. These effects are likely the result of complex interactions between toxic secondary metabolites and the nutritional quality of the plant sugar source, as well as of host resource availability and parasite growth. Using an epidemiological model, we show that plant sugar source can be a significant driver of malaria transmission dynamics, with some plant species exhibiting either transmission-reducing or -enhancing activities.

相较于疟疾传播的遗传与分子机制研究，蚊虫与疟原虫相互作用的生态背景长期以来未得到足够重视。植物花蜜与果实对疟疾媒介昆虫的营养生态具有关键意义，但植物来源糖源的自然多样性如何影响蚊虫的疟原虫媒介效能，目前仍不明确。为验证这一科学问题，我们采用直接膜喂食实验（direct membrane feeding assays），使用恶性疟原虫（Plasmodium falciparum）的同域野外分离株感染作为重要非洲疟疾媒介的科鲁兹按蚊（Anopheles coluzzi）。随后通过一系列实验，我们探究了带有花朵的黄花夹竹桃（Thevetia neriifolia）与羽裂假杜鹃（Barleria lupilina）枝条的糖膳食，以及厚皮树（Lannea microcarpa）和芒果（Mangifera indica）的果实，对决定疟疾传播强度的关键寄生虫与媒介昆虫性状的影响。研究发现，植物糖膳食的来源会差异化影响寄生虫的感染率与感染强度、寄生虫发育时长，以及媒介昆虫的存活与繁殖力。上述效应可能源于植物糖源中有毒次生代谢物与营养品质之间的复杂交互作用，同时也与宿主资源可获得性及寄生虫生长情况相关。通过流行病学模型，我们证实植物糖源可成为疟疾传播动态的重要驱动因子，部分植物物种可分别表现出降低或增强疟疾传播的活性。