ArticlePLoS pathogens2012
Midgut microbiota of the malaria mosquito vector Anopheles gambiae and interactions with Plasmodium falciparum infection.
Article in PLoS pathogens, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 313 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
313 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 537 citations in OpenAlex.
- The mosquito gut microbiome andFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Pooled it
- Malaria and the Microbiome: A Systematic Review.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2018Pooled it
- Effect of seasonal malaria chemoprevention plus azithromycin on Plasmodium falciparum transmission: gametocyte infectivity and mosquito fitness.Malaria journal · 2021Trial
- Mosquito-based malaria control through genetic, microbial and immunological innovations.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2026Review
- The Adult Aedes aegypti Bacterial Microbiota is Robust to Infection with the Obligate Microsporidian Parasite Edhazardia aedis.Environmental microbiology · 2026Article
- Article
- Drivers of Mosquito Microbiome Composition: Effects of Species, Locality, Season, and Plasmodium Infection.Microbial ecology · 2026Article
- MaRNAV-1, an intracellular virus ofbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Convergent enrichment of Gammaproteobacteria along Aedes aegypti development across different breeding sites.Animal microbiome · 2026Article
- Bridging laboratory and field research: Method adjustments to blood feed field-derived Aedes aegypti.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2026Article
- Host intestinal microbiota adaptive changes following Paranosema locustae infection and mechanism of chronic pathogenesis.Journal of insect science (Online) · 2026Article
- Metagenomic analysis of bacterial and viral communities of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus.Journal, genetic engineering & biotechnology · 2026Article
- Article
- Impact of sugar-based baits on midgut microbiome composition in Aedes mosquitoes: Implications for vector control.PloS one · 2026Article
- Blood feeding, microbiota, and layered mosquito immunity: from pathway phenotypes to vector competence.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Ecological and engineered modulation of the mosquito microbiome: mechanisms, vector competence, and translational prospects for disease control.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Review
- Article
- Environmental persistence and transmission dynamics ofApplied and environmental microbiology · 2025Article
- Microbiota diversity ofmSphere · 2025Article
- Bacterial community composition and diversity associated with developmental stages of Anopheles subpictus.International microbiology : the official journal of the Spanish Society for Microbiology · 2025Article
253 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The susceptibility of Anopheles mosquitoes to Plasmodium infections relies on complex interactions between the insect vector and the malaria parasite. A number of studies have shown that the mosquito innate immune responses play an important role in controlling the malaria infection and that the strength of parasite clearance is under genetic control, but little is known about the influence of environmental factors on the transmission success. We present here evidence that the composition of the vector gut microbiota is one of the major components that determine the outcome of mosquito infections. A. gambiae mosquitoes collected in natural breeding sites from Cameroon were experimentally challenged with a wild P. falciparum isolate, and their gut bacterial content was submitted for pyrosequencing analysis. The meta-taxogenomic approach revealed a broader richness of the midgut bacterial flora than previously described. Unexpectedly, the majority of bacterial species were found in only a small proportion of mosquitoes, and only 20 genera were shared by 80% of individuals. We show that observed differences in gut bacterial flora of adult mosquitoes is a result of breeding in distinct sites, suggesting that the native aquatic source where larvae were grown determines the composition of the midgut microbiota. Importantly, the abundance of Enterobacteriaceae in the mosquito midgut correlates significantly with the Plasmodium infection status. This striking relationship highlights the role of natural gut environment in parasite transmission. Deciphering microbe-pathogen interactions offers new perspectives to control disease transmission.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.