Non-competitive resource exploitation within mosquito shapes within-host malaria infectivity and virulence

G. Costa, M. Gildenhard, M. Eldering, R. L. Lindquist, A. E. Hauser, R. Sauerwein, C. Goosmann, V. Brinkmann, P. Carrillo-Bustamante and E. A. Levashina ()
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G. Costa: Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology (MPIIB)
M. Gildenhard: Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology (MPIIB)
M. Eldering: Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology (MPIIB)
R. L. Lindquist: German Rheumatism Research Centre (DRFZ)
A. E. Hauser: German Rheumatism Research Centre (DRFZ)
R. Sauerwein: Radboud University Medical Center
C. Goosmann: Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology (MPIIB)
V. Brinkmann: Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology (MPIIB)
P. Carrillo-Bustamante: Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology (MPIIB)
E. A. Levashina: Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology (MPIIB)

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Malaria is a fatal human parasitic disease transmitted by a mosquito vector. Although the evolution of within-host malaria virulence has been the focus of many theoretical and empirical studies, the vector’s contribution to this process is not well understood. Here, we explore how within-vector resource exploitation would impact the evolution of within-host Plasmodium virulence. By combining within-vector dynamics and malaria epidemiology, we develop a mathematical model, which predicts that non-competitive parasitic resource exploitation within-vector restricts within-host parasite virulence. To validate our model, we experimentally manipulate mosquito lipid trafficking and gauge within-vector parasite development and within-host infectivity and virulence. We find that mosquito-derived lipids determine within-host parasite virulence by shaping development (quantity) and metabolic activity (quality) of transmissible sporozoites. Our findings uncover the potential impact of within-vector environment and vector control strategies on the evolution of malaria virulence.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-05893-z

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