The larval stages of malaria vector mosquitoes
develop in water pools, feeding mostly on
microorganisms and environmental detritus. Richness in the nutrient supply to larvae influences the
development and metabolism of larvae and adults. Here, we investigated the effects of larval diet on
the development, microbiota content and permissiveness to
Plasmodium
of
Anopheles coluzzii
. We
tested three fish diets often used to rear mosquitoes
in the laboratory, including two pelleted diets,
Dr. Clarke’s Pool Pellets
and
Nishikoi Fish Pellets
, and one flaked diet,
Tetramin Fish-Flakes.
Larvae
grow and develop faster and produce bigger adults when feeding on both types of pellets compared
with flakes. This correlates with a higher microbio
ta load in pellet-fed larv
ae, in agreement with the
known positive effect of the microbiota on mosq
uito development. Larval diet also significantly
influences the prevalence and intensity of
Plasmodium berghei
infection in adults, whereby
Nishikoi
Fish Pellets
-fed larvae develop into adults that are highly permissive to parasites and survive longer
after infection
.
This correlates with a lower amount of
Enterobacteriaceae
in the midgut microbiota.
Together, our results shed light on the influenc
e of larval feeding on mosquito development,
microbiota and vector competence
; they also provide useful data for mosquito rearing.