Anopheles gambiae maternal age and parous state control offspring susceptibility to Plasmodium falciparum

Maternal effects have been reported in many organisms whereby exposure to environmental stress, either toxics or pathogens will impact on progeny response to these stresses. Here we show that susceptibility to is dependent upon maternal effects driven by females not previously exposed to the parasite. The maternal effect involved both mother age and reproductive state. Offspring of old females or from a 4 gonotrophic cycle are more susceptible than offspring from young females. These maternal effects also contribute to overall better fitness of the offspring. As mosquito population age structure contributes heavily shaping malaria transmission, consequences of this novel finding should be taken into account in further strategies for controlling malaria transmission.