Data from: Larval food quantity affects the capacity of adult mosquitoes to transmit human malaria

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 increased adult mortality and caused a delay in parasite development and a slowing in the rate at which parasites invaded the mosquito salivary glands, extending the time it took for mosquitoes to become infectious. Together, these effects increased transmission potential of mosquitoes in the high food regime by 260–330%. Such effects have not, to our knowledge, been shown previously for human malaria and highlight the importance of improving knowledge of larval ecology to better understand vector-borne disease transmission dynamics.

全变态昆虫（holometabolous insects）的成虫性状由幼虫发育阶段所经历的环境条件塑造，这类条件可能会影响成虫宿主与寄生虫之间的相互作用。然而，作为疾病媒介的幼虫期昆虫的生态学研究仍较为匮乏。本研究以斯氏按蚊（Anopheles stephensi）和人类疟原虫——恶性疟原虫（Plasmodium falciparum）为实验模型，旨在探究幼虫期环境是否会影响成蚊传播疟疾的能力。我们将幼虫分为两组饲养：一组饲喂标准实验室饲养日粮，另一组则饲喂减量日粮。待幼虫羽化后，为所有成年雌蚊提供感染性血餐。随后我们评估了蚊子的寿命、寄生虫发育速率，以及随时间推移的感染蚊感染率（prevalence）。研究结果表明，幼虫期饲喂减量日粮会导致成虫死亡率升高，同时延缓寄生虫发育进程，减缓寄生虫侵袭蚊子唾液腺的速率，进而延长蚊子具备感染性所需的时间。综合上述效应，高日粮组蚊子的疟疾传播潜力提升了260%~330%。据我们所知，此前尚未有针对人类疟疾的此类效应报道，该研究凸显了深入了解幼虫期生态学，对于更好地理解虫媒疾病传播动态的重要意义。