Interplay between Plasmodium infection and resistance to insecticides in vector mosquitoes

Abstract

Despite its epidemiological importance, the impact of insecticide resistance on vector-parasite interactions and malaria transmission is poorly understood. Here, we explored the impact of Plasmodium infection on the level of insecticide resistance to dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) in field-caught Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto homozygous for the kdr mutation. Results showed that kdr homozygous mosquitoes that fed on infectious blood were more susceptible to DDT than mosquitoes that fed on noninfectious blood during both ookinete development (day 1 after the blood meal) and oocyst maturation (day 7 after the blood meal) but not during sporozoite invasion of the salivary glands. Plasmodium falciparum infection seemed to impose a fitness cost on mosquitoes by reducing the ability of kdr homozygous A. gambiae sensu stricto to survive exposure to DDT. These results suggest an interaction between Plasmodium infection and the insecticide susceptibility of mosquitoes carrying insecticide-resistant alleles. We discuss this finding in relation to vector control efficacy.

Keywords: Anopheles gambiae; Plasmodium falciparum; cost of infection; insecticide exposure; insecticide resistance; kdr; malaria.