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Effects of a bloodless diet on fitness and malaria susceptibility in Anopheles mosquitoes from Burkina Faso
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Orientador(es)
Resumo(s)
Emerging resistance in malaria vectors and parasites has accelerated the development of novel control strategies such as the Sterile Insect Technique and Wolbachia-based approaches, which require large-scale mosquito rearing. These methods traditionally rely on vertebrate Blood, raising ethical and logistical concerns. This study evaluated the effects of a BLOODless™ on wing size, longevity, and Plasmodium falciparum susceptibility in Anopheles coluzzii and An. gambiae from Burkina Faso, and the Kisumu An. gambiae strain. Blood and Bloodless-reared mosquitoes were compared across seven generations. Wing size was unaffected by diet in the 3rd and 7th generations, though sex impacted size in the 3rd generation only. A diet-species interaction was detected in the 7th generation. Plasmodium falciparum infection rates were similar in the 3rd generation, but by the 6th, Blood-fed mosquitoes showed higher oocyst prevalence, though intensity remained unchanged. Infection outcomes were species-dependent only at this later stage. Longevity, initially comparable across groups, increased significantly in Bloodless-fed mosquitoes by the 7th generation. Species had no effect on survival. A Blood-free diet enables sustained mosquito rearing while preserving traits essential for malaria research, providing an ethical, effective alternative to vertebrate Blood in vector control and experimental programs.
Descrição
Funding text: The research received financial support from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and Aga-Khan Development Network (MosqDiet_FCT AGAKHAN/541725581/2019), and IHI (Training and Capacity Building Unit). J.M. and H.S. are supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT Portugal) by funds to GHTM/IHMT-NOVA (GHTM-UID GHTM UID/04413/2020). J.M. is recipient of a contract by FCT (https://doi.org/10.54499/CEECIND/00450/2017/CP1415/CT0001. Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2026.
Palavras-chave
Bloodless diet Longevity, Anopheles mosquitoes Susceptibility to Plasmodium falciparum Wing length General SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being