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10-Minute Presentation

Medical, Urban, and Veterinary Entomology

10-min: MUVE, Mosquito Biology and Ecology

Histamine and serotonin treatment interact with temperature and infection status of Anopheles stephensi to alter circadian activity and potentiate Plasmodium transmission

Tuesday, November 12, 2024
10:48 AM – 11:00 AM MST
Location: Phoenix Convention Center, 222 A, PCC
Oral Presentation
Circadian activity is influenced by light, which entrains and synchronizes the circadian clock, and by temperature. We have demonstrated that the biogenic amines serotonin (5-HT) and histamine ingested from human blood alter female Anopheles stephensi lifespan, flight, reproduction, feeding, and infection with malaria parasites. These effects vary based on ingestion of healthy blood levels (1nM histamine, 1.5µM 5-HT) or malaria-associated blood levels (10nM histamine, 0.15µM 5-HT). Given that biogenic amine signaling is altered by temperature and infection across a variety of organisms, we hypothesized that effects of ingested biogenic amines on A. stephensi circadian activity would be temperature- and infection-dependent. To test this, we provisioned healthy or malaria-associated amine levels to uninfected or Plasmodium yoelii-infected female A. stephensi for three days and recorded circadian activity at 21, 24, 28, 31, and 34°C and at 4-, 10- and 14-days post infection. Our data showed a significant interaction of temperature and infection with biogenic amine treatment for A. stephensi circadian activity, with significantly increased activity in mosquitoes treated with malaria-associated levels across temperature and days post infection compared to controls and healthy experimental groups. Infections with early oocysts (day 4) and sporozoites (day 14) were associated with lower circadian activity, whereas infection with late oocysts (day 10) was associated with increased activity compared to uninfected mosquitoes. These findings indicate that ingested biogenic amines alter A. stephensi activity in patterns that could potentiate parasite transmission and that histaminergic and serotonergic signaling pathways are plausible targets to alter mosquito behavior and reduce parasite transmission.