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Content with tag plasmodium .

Mosquitoes are attracted to Plasmodium-infected birds

Parasites can manipulate their hosts to increase their transmission success. Avian malaria parasites (Plasmodium) are thought to alter the cues such as host odour, used by host-seeking mosquitoes. Bird odour is affected by secretions from the uropygial gland and may play a role in modulating vector-host interactions. The hypothesis tested was that mosquitoes are more attracted to the uropygial secretions and/or whole-body odour (headspace) of Plasmodium-infected house sparrows (Passer...

Plasmodium transmission risk differs between mosquito species and parasite lineages

Factors such as the particular combination of parasite-mosquito species, their co-evolutionary history, and the host’s parasite load greatly affect parasite transmission. However, the importance of these factors in the epidemiology of mosquito-borne parasites, such as avian malaria parasites, is largely unknown. Here, the competence of two mosquito species (Culex pipiens and Aedes (Ochlerotatus) caspius), for the transmission of four avian Plasmodium lineages...

Avian malaria parasites reduce the survival of mosquitoes

Plasmodium transmission success depends upon the trade-off between the use of host resources to favour parasite reproduction and the negative effects on host health, which can be mediated by infection intensity. Despite its potential influence on parasite dynamics, the effects of infection intensity on both, birds and vectors, and on Plasmodium transmission success are still poorly understood. Here, the Plasmodium load in naturally infected wild house sparrows was experimentally reduced with...

Louse flies of Eleonora’s falcons that also feed on their prey are evolutionary dead end hosts for blood parasites

Host shifts are widespread among avian haemosporidians, although the success of transmission depends upon parasite?host and parasite?vector compatibility. Insular avifaunas are typically characterized by a low prevalence and diversity of haemosporidians, although the underlying ecological and evolutionary processes remain unclear. This study investigated the parasite transmission network in an insular system formed by Eleonora's falcons, louse flies that parasitize the falcons , and...

DNA changes in mosquitos induced by malaria infection

Infection by the human malaria parasite leads to important changes in mosquito phenotypic traits related to vector competence. However, we still lack a clear understanding of the underlying mechanisms and, in particular, of the epigenetic basis for these changes. Genome-wide distribution maps of H3K27ac, H3K9ac, H3K9me3 and H3K4me3 by ChIP-seq and the transcriptome by RNA-seq, of midguts from Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes blood-fed uninfected and infected with natural isolates of the human...
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