Background: Biomphalaria pfeifferi and Biomphalaria camerunensis are intermediate hosts of the trematode Schistosoma mansoni. Up till now, very scanty data report the life history traits of these freshwater snails. This study was therefore conducted to provide further knowledge on the mating system of these two S. mansoni intermediate hosts in Cameroon. The study was performed following a three-step experimental design as follows: (i) for each species, a sample of young snails (G1), virgin and sexually mature was constituted and divided into two groups; (ii) in the first group, individuals were maintained isolated for the evaluation of the impact of self-fertilization on life history traits while in the second group, individuals were paired for few hours for the evaluation of cross-fertilization impact; (iii) in each group, fitness parameters (fecundity of G1 snails and survival of G2 offspring) were monitored during one month.
Results: The sexual maturity (age at first egg-laying) was reached, on average, at 63.9 (sd: 3.0) and 103.7 (sd: 36.6) days for B. pfeifferi and B. camerunensis, respectively. Copulation was observed in all paired individuals in both species. In B. pfeifferi, the fecundity (number of egg capsules and eggs) of young G1 individuals and survival of G2 offspring on D0 and D8 were similar between selfing and outcrossing individuals, and a very low inbreeding depression (0.063) was observed. In B. camerunensis, the fecundity of outcrossed individuals was significantly higher than that of selfed individuals. The hatching rate was significantly higher and the incubation time significantly shorter for cross-fertilized eggs as compared with self-fertilized eggs, and a high inbreeding depression (0.71) was observed.
Conclusion: These findings may explain the high adaptability to more diverse and inconstant habitats, as well as the better compatibility of B. pfeifferi to S. mansoni compared with B. camerunensis, and may support the sustainability of S. mansoni life cycle where this intermediate host prevails.