Anopheles gambiae s.l. mosquitoes, the primary malaria vectors in sub-Saharan Africa, exhibit selectivity among plant species as potential food sources. However, it remains unclear if their preference aligns with optimal nutrient intake and survival.
Following an extensive screening of the effects of 31 plant species on An. coluzzii in Burkina Faso, we selected three species for their contrasting effects on mosquito survival, namely Ixora coccinea, Caesalpinia pulcherrima and Combretum indicum. We assessed the sugar content of these plants and their impact on mosquito fructose-positivity, survival, and insemination rate, using Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles gambiae, and with glucose 5% and water as controls.
This is an R script to replicate the analyses from the article entitled "The paradox of plant preference: the malaria vectors Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles coluzzii select suboptimal food sources for their survival and reproduction" by Prisca S. L. Paré, Domonbabele F. D. S. Hien, Mariam Youba, Rakiswendé S. Yerbanga, Anna Cohuet, Louis-Clément Gouagna, Abdoulaye Diabaté, Rickard Ignell, Roch K. Dabiré, Olivier Gnankiné, Thierry Lefèvre (2023)
Code developed by Prisca Paré and Thierry Lefevre: prislaure_pare@yahoo.fr; thierry.lefevre@ird.fr
(2023-09-29)