P. hysterophorusWIKIMEDIA, ETHEL AARDVARKThe invasive weed Parthenium hysterophorus, native to the American tropics, could hinder the fight against malaria in East Africa, where the plant is spreading fast. Researchers from the Nairobi, Kenya-based International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) and their colleagues have found that P. hysterophorus can sustain the malaria-transmitting mosquito Anopheles gambiae even in the absence of a blood meal. The team’s results were published in PLOS One this month (September 14).
In a small study, ICIPE’s Baldwyn Torto and his colleagues found that the malaria vector A. gambiae was highly attracted to and fed frequently on P. hysterophorus. While the weed can be toxic to humans and livestock, the mosquito is able to ingest the plant’s poison without suffering negative effects. Researchers do not yet know why.
“This is possibly because mosquitoes are continuously being exposed to a wide range of chemical pesticides in the environment; they seem to be adapting to other toxins to ensure their survival,” Torto wrote in an email.
Mosquitoes are known to feed on the nectars of various plants to sustain their hunts for blood meals and searches for mates, so the continued spread of the invasive weed in East Africa ...
