Adult mosquitoes of the sibling species Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles coluzzii exhibit contrasting patterns of susceptibility to four neonicotinoid insecticides along an urban-to-rural gradient in Yaoundé, Cameroon

Abstract Background Neonicotinoids are potential alternatives for controlling pyrethroid-resistant mosquitoes, but their efficacy against malaria vector populations of sub-Saharan Africa has yet to be investigated. The aim of the present study was to test the efficacy of four neonicotinoids against adult populations of the sibling species Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles coluzzii sampled along an urban-to-rural gradient. Methods The lethal toxicity of three active ingredients for adults of two susceptible Anopheles strains was assessed using concentration–response assays, and their discriminating concentrations were calculated. The discriminating concentrations were then used to test the susceptibility of An. gambiae and An. coluzzii mosquitoes collected from urban, suburban and rural areas of Yaoundé, Cameroon, to acetamiprid, imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam. Results Lethal concentrations of neonicotinoids were relatively high suggesting that this class of insecticides has low toxicity against Anopheles mosquitoes. Reduced susceptibility to the four neonicotinoids tested was detected in An. gambiae populations collected from rural and suburban areas. By contrast, adults of An. coluzzii that occurred in urbanized settings were susceptible to neonicotinoids except acetamiprid for which 80% mortality was obtained within 72 h of insecticide exposure. The cytochrome inhibitor, piperonyl butoxide (PBO), significantly enhanced the activity of clothianidin and acetamiprid against An. gambiae mosquitoes. Conclusions These findings corroborate susceptibility profiles observed in larvae and highlight a significant variation in tolerance to neonicotinoids between An. gambiae and An. coluzzii populations from Yaoundé. Further studies are needed to disentangle the role of exposure to agricultural pesticides and of cross-resistance mechanisms in the development of neonicotinoid resistance in some Anopheles species.