AI Article Synopsis
- In West Africa, a type of mosquito called Anopheles gambiae can resist insecticides due to a genetic change known as kdr (L1014F), but we don't know how this affects their life cycle.
- Scientists compared two strains of these mosquitoes: one that is susceptible to insecticides (Kisumu) and one that is resistant (KisKdr) to see how their traits differ in a lab without insecticides.
- They found that the resistant mosquitoes laid fewer eggs but were better at surviving and feeding on blood than the susceptible ones, which means the kdr trait can change how these mosquitoes live and reproduce.
Article Abstract
Background: Existing mechanisms of insecticide resistance are known to help the survival of mosquitoes following contact with chemical compounds, even though they could negatively affect the life-history traits of resistant malaria vectors. In West Africa, the knockdown resistance mechanism kdr (L1014F) is the most common. However, little knowledge is available on its effects on mosquito life-history traits. The fitness effects associated with this knockdown resistance allele in Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto (s.s.) were investigated in an insecticide-free laboratory environment.
Methods: The life-history traits of Kisumu (susceptible) and KisKdr (kdr resistant) strains of An. gambiae s.s. were compared. Larval survivorship and pupation rate were assessed as well as fecundity and fertility of adult females. Female mosquitoes of both strains were directly blood fed through artificial membrane assays and then the blood-feeding success, blood volume and adult survivorship post-blood meal were assessed.
Results: The An. gambiae mosquitoes carrying the kdr allele (KisKdr) laid a reduced number of eggs. The mean number of larvae in the susceptible strain Kisumu was three-fold overall higher than that seen in the KisKdr strain with a significant difference in hatching rates (81.89% in Kisumu vs 72.89% in KisKdr). The KisKdr larvae had a significant higher survivorship than that of Kisumu. The blood-feeding success was significantly higher in the resistant mosquitoes (84%) compared to the susceptible ones (34.75%). However, the mean blood volume was 1.36 µL/mg, 1.45 µL/mg and 1.68 µL/mg in Kisumu, homozygote and heterozygote KisKdr mosquitoes, respectively. After blood-feeding, the heterozygote KisKdr mosquitoes displayed highest survivorship when compared to that of Kisumu.
Conclusions: The presence of the knockdown resistance allele appears to impact the life-history traits, such as fecundity, fertility, larval survivorship, and blood-feeding behaviour in An. gambiae. These data could help to guide the implementation of more reliable strategies for the control of malaria vectors.
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Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8686585 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12936-021-04005-5 | DOI Listing |
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