Genetic clonality of Plasmodium falciparum affects the outcome of infection in Anopheles gambiae

Abstract

Mosquito infections with natural isolates of Plasmodium falciparum are notoriously variable and pose a problem for reliable evaluation of efficiency of transmission-blocking agents for malaria control interventions. Here, we show that monoclonal P. falciparum isolates produce higher parasite loads than mixed ones. Induction of the mosquito immune responses by wounding efficiently decreases Plasmodium numbers in monoclonal infections but fails to do so in infections with two or more parasite genotypes. Our results point to the parasites genetic complexity as a potentially crucial component of mosquito-parasite interactions.