Abstract
The emergence of arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) as linked to land-use changes, especially the growing agricultural intensification and expansion efforts in rural parts of Africa, is of growing health concern. This places an additional burden on health systems as drugs, vaccines, and effective vector-control measures against arboviruses and their vectors remain lacking. An integrated One Health approach holds potential in the control and prevention of arboviruses. Land-use changes favour invasion by invasive alien plants (IAPs) and investigating their impact on mosquito populations may offer a new dimension to our understanding of arbovirus emergence. Of prime importance to understand is how IAPs influence mosquito life-history traits and how this may affect transmission of arboviruses to mammalian hosts, questions that we are exploring in this review. Potential effects of IAPs may be significant, including supporting the proliferation of immature and adult stages of mosquito vectors, providing additional nutrition and suitable microhabitats, and a possible interaction between ingested secondary plant metabolites and arboviruses. We conclude that aspects of vector biology are differentially affected by individual IAPs and that while some plants may have the potential to indirectly increase the risk of transmission of certain arboviruses by their direct interaction with the vectors, the reverse holds for other IAPs. In addition, we highlight priority research areas to improve our understanding of the potential health impacts of IAPs.
1. Introduction
Large-scale land-use changes, especially as a result of a drive towards agricultural intensification and expansion, are progressively re-shaping the future of rural Africa. The prime driver of this change remains the need to improve food security given the high population growth on the continent, leading to an estimated doubling of the population by 2050 [1]. Agricultural practices in Africa may have unintended health implications by driving the emergence of arthropod borne diseases [2]. Many important zoonotic diseases caused by arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) like Rift valley fever (RVF), West Nile, dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya, and Zika originated in Africa, and their initial emergence might have remained unnoticed as human encroachment into natural ecosystems, deforestation, and agricultural transformation was taking place. Yet, the arthropod vectors that transmit these arboviruses are particularly sensitive to land-use changes [3,4,5] and can quickly adapt to changing ecosystems by altering key aspects of their bionomics.
The emergence of previously unknown viruses and the re-emergence of known ones are a huge challenge to both the human and veterinary health sectors as the outbreaks they cause remain hard to predict and difficult to combat. Though an integrated One Health approach, which combines human, animal, and environmental health, could contribute in controlling arboviral diseases and in curbing their emergence and spread, these efforts are presently hampered by a lack of knowledge on the functional environmental linkages that can serve as a proxy to predicting arbovirus emergence. Moreover, certain aspects of the biology and ecology of arboviral vectors remain poorly understood, especially in the case of mosquitoes; chief amongst the less appreciated aspects of their biology is the role of plants in the feeding and survival of female members of the population. Though both male and female mosquitoes repeatedly ingest sugars available in plants to sustain daily metabolic activities, thus ensuring survival and flight [6,7], evidence increasingly suggests that female mosquitoes also depend on certain plants in the environment for different aspects of their bionomics. This may be for (i) enhancing their reproductive success [8,9], (ii) use as microhabitats [10], (iii) use for the proliferation of larvae [11,12], and (iv) for blocking transmission of pathogens [13]. These aspects of mosquito biology would potentially be affected by changes in the vegetation structure and composition. Strong differences of mosquito abundance [14,15] and survival [8,9,16] have been observed between habitats colonized by nectar-rich and nectar-poor plants. Whether invasive alien plants (IAPs) might affect the risk of emergence of malaria was recently reviewed by Stone et al. [7], but little is known on possible linkages between IAPs and life-history traits of arboviral vectors, in particular of mosquito vectors. Lately some IAPs are reported to affect the health of humans and livestock, thus adding to their already considerable economic and environmental effects [17,18,19].
In this review, we explore how vector bionomics and competence (i.e., the ability to transmit viruses) are affected by IAPs on the African environment. We focus on mosquitoes because these are the principal vectors of most arboviruses, and their biology and ecology are best understood. However, because of the limited existing knowledge on arboviral mosquito vectors we also refer to data from malaria and its mosquito vectors and explore how this knowledge can inform future research on arboviral diseases. The latter forms the second major objective of this review as we seek to identify areas where more research efforts are needed to develop a framework for future research in arbovirology. Critical evaluations will be made on individual IAPs and mosquito vector species, along the life-history of the latter, and where possible information will be provided on the inhibiting potential of IAPs against arboviruses. Exploring the link between IAPs and the emergence of arboviral diseases may form the basis for recommending effective control measures and contribute to an integrated approach to arboviral diseases management.
2. Invasive Alien Plants
Invasive plant species are defined by three main properties, (i) their bio-geographical origin (alien plants, introduced either accidentally or on purpose by living organisms), (ii) their ability to spread without human assistance (aggressive invasion of pristine environments or opportunistic establishment in disturbed habitats), and (iii) their negative effects, including economic, environmental, and aesthetic impacts [20]. Most species of IAPs belong to the three plant families Compositae, Poaceae, and Leguminosae [21]. The IAPs reviewed here are among those with potential relevance to arthropods and particularly to virus-transmitting mosquitoes. In particular, these are species that are able to rapidly fill “open” niches by fast growth and aggressive spread dynamics [22], and that occupy ecological niches similar to those preferred by disease vectors [23]. This concerns open water surfaces (IAPs colonizing aquatic and semi-aquatic habitats) or anthropogenically disturbed terrestrial areas where IAPs displace natural vegetation using allelochemicals [24] and by effectively competing for resources such as light, water, and nutrients [25]. In these cases, IAPs may substantially alter ecological conditions, differentially affecting arboviral mosquito vectors at different stages of their development. The main group of plants discussed in this review correspond to (i) floating aquatic plants and semi-aquatic helophytes, (ii) annual and perennial forbs, (iii) woody species, and (iv) succulent plants (Table 1).
Table 1.
Vascular plant species cited in this article as invasive for African countries and grouped according to their life forms.
Aquatic and semi-aquatic environments have been greatly affected by IAPs in Africa. Floating species such as water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes), and water fern (Salvinia molesta) are considered among the earliest introductions of alien plants into Africa [26,27,28]. Due to the azonality of aquatic environments, most of those species are ubiquitous. The neotropical species Mimosa pigra are predominant in semi-aquatic habitats such as swamps and floodplains. These aquatic IAPs were introduced into Africa as ornamental plants for artificial ponds and are causing huge ecological and economic problems [19].
Annual and perennial herbs mainly colonize ruderal (disturbed) places such as roadsides, quarries, and construction places [29], but may also occur as common weeds (segetal flora) in irrigated and rain-fed croplands [30]. Examples of IAPs in cultivated and fallow lands are the annuals Argemone mexicana, Bidens pilosa, Datura stramonium, Galinsoga parviflora, Tagetes minuta, and Parthenium hysterophorus. Because these weeds are short-lived and often outcompeted by perennial forbs and woods, their effects on the environment are usually neglected. However, of emerging ecological concern is P. hysterophorus due to its fast spread and dominant growth [29,31,32].
Woody species (trees and shrubs) are the most important group of IAPs based on their size and impact on vegetation structure. Many are broadly distributed across the continent in tropical and sub-tropical areas like the shrubs Chromolaena odorata [33,34] and Lantana camara [35,36]. The latter is often grown as a live fence around homes and occasionally croplands and is a preferred habitat of tsetse flies (Glossina spp.), the vectors carrying the parasitic protozoan that causes trypanosomiasis in humans and animals [37]. Others can invade protected areas like Broussonetia papyrifera [38], Psidium guajava [39], and Senna spectabilis [40]. Of greatest concern in this respect in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond is the rapid spread of Prosopis juliflora (mesquite), considered as one of the world’s worst invasive plant across the tropics [41,42].
Succulent plants are adapted to semi-arid conditions, occurring in stony shallow soils that are frequently used for rain-fed cultivation or as seasonal grazing places. Succulent IAPs, often neotropical Cactaceae like Austrocylindropuntia subulata, Opuntia ficus-indica, and O. stricta, frequently outcompete native succulents [19,43].
5. Potential Effects of Invasive Alien Plants on Viral Pathogen Transmission
Mosquito species of the Aedes, Culex, Mansonia, Eretmapodites, and Anopheles genera are tremendous threats to public health due to their ability to transmit viruses to humans and/or livestock [75]. Because viral susceptibility and transmission by a mosquito vector is affected by nutrition [76], the choice of nutrition is critical for the propagation of infectious pathogens to humans and livestock (Figure 1f). However, little to nothing is known about the role of plant nutrition of the mosquito vector on viral infection, replication, and transmission.
Besides the oviposition altering properties of plant debris in vector breeding sites, histopathological evidence showed that consumption of decaying plant leaves by larvae of Ae. aegypti, Ae. albopictus, and Cx. pipiens affected their midgut epithelial cells [77]. Disruption of the midgut epithelial cells may interfere with immature development, adult emergence, and possibly pathogen transmission abilities [78]. Though this does not directly point to all IAPs, it is known that the aquatic IAP Eichhornia crassipes is able to affect the midgut epithelia tissue of Cx. pipiens [79]. In addition, the fact that leaf litter of certain IAPs enhances the abundance of Culex spp. and Aedes spp. [11], makes it particularly interesting to investigate whether these plants also affect the adult vectors’ fitness and susceptibility to viral pathogens.
Both male and female mosquitoes rely on plant sugar for flight and survival [6,7], with possible additional reproductive and pathogen susceptibility benefits for female mosquitoes [9,13]. Recent studies have confirmed that certain secondary metabolites (toxins) from plants are ingested by mosquito vectors along with common plant sugars [80]. However, the fate and impact of the ingested plant secondary metabolites remains unclear, particularly for arboviral mosquito vectors. For malaria it is known that An. gambiae preferentially feeds on P. hysterophorus, though because of the plant’s relatively inferior sugar profile it appears that in terms of nutrition the plant does not have any adaptive significance to the vector [8,9,64,69]. Hence the vector’s feeding preference for P. hysterophorus could be a mere reflection of its wide availability caused by the rapid replacement of native vegetation by this highly aggressive IAP, its attractive odour [70], or due to other underlying physiological benefits that the plant offers the vector. It was therefore hypothesized that besides sugars, other constituents present in P. hysterophorus could benefit An. gambiae [64]. Parthenin, a sesquiterpene lactone present in P. hysterophorus, was isolated from recently plant-fed An. gambiae [80] and was later shown to block the transmission of the asexual stages of Plasmodium falciparum in infected mosquitoes [13], leading to speculations that the female mosquitoes preferentially seek sugar from P. hysterophorus to rid themselves of a plasmodium infection [80]. Though some of the anti-microbial properties of parthenin are well documented [13,81], its antiviral potential remains unknown and merits further investigation.
Thus, based on the recent promising results regarding malaria vectors [13,80], the potential suppressing or even enhancing properties of secondary plant metabolites on arbovirus vectors, especially those found in aggressively spreading IAPs in Africa, demands greater scientific attention. This should be accompanied by more detailed studies on plant feeding preferences in arboviral mosquito vectors, including the dengue vector Ae. aegypti but also vectors of other important arboviral diseases like RVFV.
6. Conclusions
The plant assemblage in an environment has the potential to influence the abundance and diversity of mosquito vectors and their ability to transmit infectious pathogens. In Africa, IAPs are dramatically altering ecologies and whole landscapes. We believe that this has profound consequences on the dynamics of arboviral mosquito vectors and on the epidemiology of important endemic arboviral diseases on the continent. Although not much is presently known, some initial studies on arboviral vectors and IAPs (immature development, plant sugar feeding preference, survival, reproductive fitness, and vector competence) are indicating a whole new area of research, which eventually might enrich our portfolio of integrated control options and risk analysis mapping of vector-borne viral diseases.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization, S.B.A. and C.B.; methodology, S.B.A. and C.B.; validation, S.B.A., M.A., M.B., E.M.F., S.J., and C.B.; investigation, S.B.A., M.A., M.B., E.M.F., S.J., and C.B.; resources, C.B.; data curation, S.B.A., M.A., M.B., and C.B.; writing—S.B.A., M.A., M.B., and C.B.; writing—review and editing, S.B.A., M.A., M.B., E.M.F., S.J., and C.B.; visualization, S.B.A., M.A., M.B., E.M.F., S.J., and C.B.; supervision, C.B.; project administration, S.B.A. and C.B.; funding acquisition, S.J. and C.B. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding
Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) through funding for the project “Future Infections” as part of the collaborative research center “Future Rural Africa”, funding code TRR 228/1.
Data Availability Statement
Data is contained within the article.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.
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