Abstract
BackgroundTemperature plays a crucial role in the life history of insects. Recent climate change research has highlighted the importance of elevated temperature on malaria vector distribution. This study aims to examine the role of elevated temperatures on epidemiologically important life-history traits in the major malaria vector, Anopheles arabiensis. Specifically, the differential effects of temperature on insecticide-resistant and susceptible strains were examined.MethodsTwo laboratory strains of A. arabiensis, the insecticide-susceptible SENN and the insecticide-resistant SENN DDT strains, were used to examine the effect of elevated temperatures on larval development and adult longevity. The effects of various elevated temperatures on insecticide resistance phenotypes were also examined and the biochemical basis of the changes in insecticide resistance phenotype was assessed.ResultsSENN and SENN DDT larvae developed at similar rates at elevated temperatures. SENN DDT adult survivorship did not vary between control and elevated temperatures, while the longevity of SENN adults at constantly elevated temperatures was significantly reduced. SENN DDT adults lived significantly longer than SENN at constantly elevated temperatures. Elevated rearing temperatures, as well as a short-term exposure to 37 and 39 °C as adults, augmented pyrethroid resistance in adult SENN DDT, and increased pyrethroid tolerance in SENN. Detoxification enzyme activity was not implicated in this phenotypic effect. Quercertin-induced synergism of inducible heat shock proteins negated this temperature-mediated augmentation of pyrethroid resistance.ConclusionInsecticide-resistant A. arabiensis live longer than their susceptible counterparts at elevated temperatures. Exposure to heat shock augments pyrethroid resistance in both resistant and susceptible strains. This response is potentially mediated by inducible heat shock proteins.
Highlights
Temperature plays a crucial role in the life history of insects
The aim of this study was to assess the effects of elevated temperatures on the life history and insecticide resistance phenotypes of laboratory-reared strains of A. arabiensis
The effects of elevated temperature on larval development rate and adult longevity Constantly elevated temperature had a variable effect on larval and adult life history
Summary
Temperature plays a crucial role in the life history of insects. Recent climate change research has highlighted the importance of elevated temperature on malaria vector distribution. This study aims to examine the role of elevated temperatures on epidemiologically important life-history traits in the major malaria vector, Anopheles arabiensis. Exposure to high temperatures has a variety of physiological effects on poikilothermic animals such as insects. These effects include increases in metabolic rate [1, 2]. Fluctuating temperatures, extreme high and low temperatures, have the potential to impact insecticide-based malaria control interventions through their effects on the target mosquito vector populations [9]. Elevated temperatures have been shown to augment pyrethroid resistance in C. quinquefasciatus [14], increasing α-esterase activity while decreasing β-esterase activity [15]
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