Data from: Reduced survival and reproductive success generates selection pressure for the dengue mosquito Aedes aegypti to evolve resistance against infection by the microsporidian parasite Vavraia culicis

The success and sustainability of control measures aimed at reducing the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases will depend on how they influence the fitness of mosquitoes in targeted populations. We investigated the effects of the microsporidian parasite Vavraia culicis on the survival, blood-feeding behaviour and reproductive success of female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the main vector of dengue. Infection reduced survival to adulthood and increased adult female mosquito age-dependent mortality relative to uninfected individuals; this additional mortality was closely correlated with the number of parasite spores they harboured when they died. In the first gonotrophic cycle, infected females were less likely to blood-feed, took smaller meals when they did so, and developed fewer eggs than uninfected females. Even though the conditions of this laboratory study favoured minimal developmental times, the costs of infection were already being experienced by the time females reached an age at which they could first reproduce. These results suggest there will be selection pressure for mosquitoes to evolve resistance against this pathogen if it is used as an agent in a control program to reduce the transmission of mosquito-borne human diseases.旨在降低蚊媒疾病传播的防控措施的成效与可持续性，取决于其对目标种群蚊子的适合度（fitness）所产生的影响。本研究以登革热的主要传播媒介埃及伊蚊（Aedes aegypti）雌蚊为研究对象，探究了微孢子虫寄生虫Vavraia culicis对其存活能力、吸血行为以及繁殖成功率的影响。结果显示，相较于未感染个体，感染该寄生虫的蚊子的成虫羽化存活率降低，且成蚊的年龄依赖性死亡率升高；这种额外增加的死亡率与蚊子死亡时体内携带的寄生虫孢子数量密切相关。在首个生殖营养周期中，感染雌蚊的吸血概率低于未感染雌蚊，即便实施吸血行为，其血液摄入量也更少，且产卵量更低。尽管本实验室研究的实验条件有利于将蚊子的发育时长压缩至最短，但在雌蚊达到首次繁殖的日龄时，感染已使其承受了相应的生存代价。上述结果表明，若将该病原体作为生物防控制剂应用于人类蚊媒疾病传播抑制项目中，那么蚊子将面临演化出对该病原体抗性的选择压力。