Trypanosoma cruzi Induces Life-History Trait Changes in the Wild Kissing Bug Mepraia spinolai: Implications for Parasite Transmission

Abstract

One important paradigm in host-parasite evolutionary biology is the ability of parasites to manipulate the phenotype of their hosts to facilitate transmission. In this paper, I examine whether the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi modifies the developmental time, body size, and survival of its vector, the bloodsucking insect Mepraia spinolai (Hemiptera; Reduviidae). M. spinolai nymphs were experimentally infected when fed on T. cruzi-infected mice (infected group) or kept uninfected when fed on healthy mice (control group). T. cruzi-infected insects showed a retarded developmental time and reduced survival compared with uninfected individuals. The impact of the parasite on the vector was age-dependent as the last three insect molts were the most affected stages. The presence of T. cruzi decreased significantly the weight of male and female insects in the three last stages. When insect sex was taken into account, infected female bugs took longer than infected males to develop into the adult stage, which implies that the impact of T. cruzi is sex-dependent. Results from this study indicate that T. cruzi has a strong impact on life history traits of M. spinolai and provide strong evidence of age- and sex-dependent parasite-induced phenotype modification for insect vectors. The implications of this study along with previously reported feeding behavioral alterations in this insect vector-parasite system suggest that T. cruzi-induced modifications could translate into an enhanced transmission to definitive mammal hosts.