A microsporidian impairs Plasmodium falciparum transmission in Anopheles arabiensis mosquitoes
A possible malaria control approach involves the dissemination in mosquitoes of inherited symbiotic microbes to block Plasmodium transmission. However, in the Anopheles gambiae complex, the primary African vectors of malaria, there are limited reports of inherited symbionts that impair transmission....
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Published in | Nature communications Vol. 11; no. 1; p. 2187 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
London
Nature Publishing Group UK
04.05.2020
Nature Publishing Group Nature Portfolio |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | A possible malaria control approach involves the dissemination in mosquitoes of inherited symbiotic microbes to block
Plasmodium
transmission. However, in the
Anopheles gambiae
complex, the primary African vectors of malaria, there are limited reports of inherited symbionts that impair transmission. We show that a vertically transmitted microsporidian symbiont (
Microsporidia MB
) in the
An. gambiae
complex can impair
Plasmodium
transmission.
Microsporidia MB
is present at moderate prevalence in geographically dispersed populations of
An. arabiensis
in Kenya, localized to the mosquito midgut and ovaries, and is not associated with significant reductions in adult host fecundity or survival. Field-collected
Microsporidia MB
infected
An. arabiensis
tested negative for
P. falciparum
gametocytes and, on experimental infection with
P. falciparum
, sporozoites aren’t detected in
Microsporidia MB
infected mosquitoes. As a microbe that impairs
Plasmodium
transmission that is non-virulent and vertically transmitted,
Microsporidia MB
could be investigated as a strategy to limit malaria transmission.
Mircobial symbionts of mosquitoes can affect transmission of human pathogens. Here, Herren
et al
. identify a microsporidian symbiont in
Anopheles gambiae
that impairs transmission without affecting mosquito fecundity or survival. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 2041-1723 2041-1723 |
DOI: | 10.1038/s41467-020-16121-y |