Your new experience awaits. Try the new design now and help us make it even better

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Ecol. Evol.

Sec. Behavioral and Evolutionary Ecology

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fevo.2025.1628611

Timing of prooxidant and antioxidant intake shapes life-history and parasite tolerance in Anopheles mosquitoes

Provisionally accepted
  • Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Oxidative homeostasis plays a crucial role in physiology, as reactive oxygen species (ROS) regulate immunity and longevity, but also lead to damaging oxidative stress. ROS are therefore expected to influence host-parasite interactions. Previous studies have shown that supplementing mosquito diets with prooxidants (hydrogen peroxide) or antioxidants (ascorbic acid) disturbs their oxidative balance, particularly in uninfected individuals, which actively avoid these compounds when given a choice. Here, we evaluated how such diet-induced shifts in oxidative status influence infection outcomes with the microsporidian parasite Vavraia culicis in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae. Mosquitoes were fed a standard sugar solution or one supplemented with a prooxidant or an antioxidant either early or late in life. We then measured longevity, fecundity, and parasite load 13 days after emergence or at death. Early prooxidant consumption increased longevity; this benefit was lower in infected mosquitoes. Antioxidant consumption increased fecundity irrespective of infection. Early intake of either supplement increased parasite load in 13-day old mosquitoes, while late intake promoted parasite growth later in life. These findings reveal context-dependent effects of oxidative status on host traits and parasite dynamics, emphasizing the crucial role of timing in shaping oxidative interventions.

Keywords: Oxidative Stress, life-history trade-offs, Parasite tolerance, Host-Parasite Interactions, Anopheles mosquitoes, self-medication, Infection resistance, Oxidative ecology

Received: 14 May 2025; Accepted: 18 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Zeferino, Mora and Koella. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Tiago G. Zeferino, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.