PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Pierre Marie Sovegnon AU - Marie Joelle Fanou AU - Romaric Akoton AU - Oswald Yédjinnavênan Djihinto AU - Hamirath Odée Lagnika AU - Romuald Agonhossou AU - Luc Salako Djogbénou TI - Effects of larval diet on the life-history traits and phenotypic expression of pyrethroid resistance in the major malaria vector <em>Anopheles gambiae s.s.</em> AID - 10.1101/2022.01.11.475801 DP - 2022 Jan 01 TA - bioRxiv PG - 2022.01.11.475801 4099 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/01/11/2022.01.11.475801.short 4100 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/01/11/2022.01.11.475801.full AB - The success achieved in reducing malaria transmission by vector control is threatened by insecticide resistance. To strengthen the current vector control programmes, the non-genetic factors underlying the emergence of insecticide resistance in Anopheles vectors and its widespread need to be explored. This study aimed to assess the effects of larval diet on some life-history traits and pyrethroid-insecticide susceptibility of Anopheles gambiae s.s.Three (3) An. gambiae strains, namely Kisumu (insecticide susceptible), AcerKis (homozygous ace-1RG119S resistant) and KisKdr (homozygous kdrRL1014F resistant) were fed with three different diets (low, medium, and high) of TetraMin® Baby fish food. Pre-imaginal developmental time, larval mortality, adult emergence rate and female wing length were measured. Mosquito females were exposed to insecticide-treated net (ITN) PermaNet 2.0 and PermaNet 3.0.In the three An. gambiae strains, significant differences in adult emergence rates (F = 1054.2; df = 2; p &lt;0.01), mosquito wing length (F = 970.5; df = 2; p &lt;0.01) and adult survival post insecticide exposure (χ2= 173; df = 2; p &lt;0.01), were noticed among the three larval diets. Larvae fed with the low food diets took more time to develop, were smaller at emergence and displayed a short lifespan, while the specimens fed with a high regime developed faster and into big adults. Although being fed with a high diet, none of An. gambiae strain harbouring the kdrR and ace-1R allele survived 24 hours after exposure against PermaNet 3.0.This study showed that variation in the larval diet significantly impacts An. gambiae life-history traits such as larval mortality and developmental time, adult wing length, and female susceptibility to pyrethroid insecticides. Further investigations through field-based studies would allow an in-depth understanding of the implications of these non-genetic parameters on the physiological traits of malaria vectors and consequently improve resistance management.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.