Parental and offspring larval diets interact to influence life-history traits and infection with dengue virus inAedes aegypti

Abstract

The environmental conditions experienced by parents can influence offspring phenotype along with the conditions experienced by offspring. These parental effects are clear in organisms that display parental care and are less clear in other organisms. Here, we consider effects of parental and offspring larval nutrition on offspring development time, survivorship and infection with dengue virus in Aedes aegypti, the mosquito vector of dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika. Parents were raised on either high or low larval detritus inputs with subsequent offspring being divided into two groups, one receiving high nutrients and the other low. Low nutrient females from low nutrient parents (LL) developed significantly slower than those from high nutrient parents (HL). Females from all parent by offspring nutrient treatment groups were equally likely to become infected with dengue virus at 24 h, 3 days and 14 days. After 14 days, high nutrient females from low nutrient parents (LH) had 11 times higher viral titres and more disseminated infections than high nutrient females from high nutrient parents (HH). These results suggest that carry-over environmental stress from the parental generation can influence life histories and arbovirus infection in Ae. aegypti females. We found males to be robust to the life-history parameters measured, suggesting sex-specific differences which may relate to their lower nutrient requirements for metamorphosis.

Data-driven and interpretable machine-learning modeling to explore the fine-scale environmental determinants of malaria vectors biting rates in rural Burkina Faso

“…Weather during preceding weeks (i.e. beyond 3 weeks before the date of collection) might affect observed densities by influencing the survival and development rates of (i) parent generations through mechanical effects on the population dynamic [ 84 ], (ii) the current/sampled generation through maternal/paternal effects [ 87 , 88 ], or (iii) the current generation by preparing different biotic and abiotic conditions (for instance, by filling suitable larval development sites with water or by enabling the development of food sources, competitors or predators of Anopheles larvae).…”

El Niño drought and tropical forest conversion synergistically determine mosquito development rate

“…This has been demonstrated for larval development under laboratory conditions, where large fluctuations around a low mean temperature reduced development time by approximately five days compared to constant temperature at the same mean (Carrington et al 2013a). Given that mosquito population dynamics are determined in part by the rate at which new adult mosquitoes are produced (Garrett-Jones 1964), and that larval development time is linked to a suite of adult traits relevant to vectorial capacity (Alto et al 2008, Araújo and Gil 2012, Zirbel et al 2018, understanding how this life-history trait responds to ecologically realistic temperature fluctuations is critical to effective vector and disease control.…”

Data-driven and interpretable machine-learning modeling to explore the fine-scale environmental determinants of malaria vectors biting rates in rural Burkina Faso

“…b\w 1 and 2-3) before collection was expected to influence larval lifetime of collected mosquitoes. Weather during preceding weeks (i.e beyond 3 weeks before the date of collection) might affect observed densities by influencing survival and development rates of i) parent generations through mechanical effect on the population dynamic (79), ii) the current / sampled generation through maternal / paternal effects (82,83), or iii) the current generation by preparing different biotic and abiotic conditions (for instance, by filling suitable larval development sites with water or by allowing the development of food sources, competitors or predators of Anopheles larvae).…”