Factors affecting horizontal transmission of the microsporidium Amblyospora albifasciati to its intermediate copepod host Mesocyclops annulatus

Abstract

Factors that directly impact horizontal transmission of the microsporidium Amblyospora albifasciati to its intermediate copepod host, Mesocyclops annulatus were examined in laboratory bioassays. Results were evaluated in relation to life history strategies that facilitate persistence of the parasite in natural populations of its definitive mosquito host, Ochlerotatus albifasciatus. A moderately high quantity of meiospores from mosquito larvae was required to infect adult female copepods; the IC50 was estimated at 3.6 × 10 4 meiospores/ml. Meiospore infectivity following storage at 25 °C was detected up to 30 days, while meiospores stored at 4 °C remained infectious to copepods for 17 months with virtually no decline in infectivity. Uninfected female M. annulatus are long-lived; no appreciable mortality was observed in field-collected individuals for 26 days, with a few individuals surviving up to 70 days. The pathological impact of A. albifasciati infection on M. annulatus resulted in a 30% reduction in survivorship after 7 days followed by gradual progressive mortality with no infected individuals surviving more than 40 days. This moderate level of pathogenicity allows for a steady continual release of spores into the environment where they may be ingested by mosquito larvae. Infected female copepods survived in sediment under conditions of desiccation up to 30 days, thus demonstrating their capacity to function as a link for maintaining A. albifasciati between mosquito generations following periods of desiccation. The susceptibility of late stage copepodid M. annulatus to meiospores of A. albifasciati and subsequent transstadial transmission of infection to adult females was established.