ArticleParasites & vectors2023
Microsporidia MB in the primary malaria vector Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto is avirulent and undergoes maternal and horizontal transmission.
Article in Parasites & vectors, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- Advances in mosquito gut microbiota: Mechanisms of regulating pathogen transmission and applications in vector control.Virulence · 2026Review
- Mosquito-based malaria control through genetic, microbial and immunological innovations.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2026Review
- Microsporidia: evolution, infection mechanisms and host impact.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2026Review
- Modelling the temporal dynamics of Microsporidia MB prevalence in Anopheles mosquitoes under environmental variability.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Sand fly endosymbionts in Kenya: Rickettsia and Wolbachia associations with Leishmania and detection of Rickettsia africae.Parasites & vectors · 2026Article
- The L1014F Kdr mutation is associated with a higher prevalence and load of the Plasmodium-blocking symbiont Microsporidia MB In Anopheles Gambiae s.l. In Benin.BMC microbiology · 2026Article
- LaboratoryFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Article
- Monitoring the Capacity ofInsects · 2025Article
- Article
- The dissemination potential of Microsporidia MB in Anopheles arabiensis mosquitoes is modulated by temperature.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Imaging the lifecycle ofmSphere · 2025Article
- Maximizing horizontal transmission through mating: increased mating frequency and mating competitiveness associated with Microsporidia MB-infected Anopheles arabiensis males.Malaria journal · 2025Article
- Seasonal variation of Microsporidia MB infection in Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles coluzzii in two different geographical localities in Benin.Malaria journal · 2025Article
- Mosquito breeding water parameters are important determinants for Microsporidia MB in the aquatic stages of Anopheles species.Parasites & vectors · 2024Article
- Bioinformatics analysis of the Microsporidia sp. MB genome: a malaria transmission-blocking symbiont of the Anopheles arabiensis mosquito.BMC genomics · 2024Article
- The Plasmodium transmission-blocking symbiont, Microsporidia MB, is vertically transmitted through Anopheles arabiensis germline stem cells.PLoS pathogens · 2024Article
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9 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
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Abstract
backgroundThe demonstration that the recently discovered Anopheles symbiont Microsporidia MB blocks malaria transmission in Anopheles arabiensis and undergoes vertical and horizontal transmission suggests that it is a promising candidate for the development of a symbiont-based malaria transmission-blocking strategy. The infection prevalence and characteristics of Microsporidia MB in Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto (s.s.), another primary vector species of malaria in Kenya, were investigated.
methodsField-collected females were confirmed to be Microsporidia MB-positive after oviposition. Egg counts of Microsporidia MB-infected and non-infected individuals were used to infer the effects of Microsporidia MB on fecundity. The time to pupation, adult sex ratio and survival were used to determine if Microsporidia MB infection has similar characteristics in the host mosquitoes An. gambiae and An. arabiensis. The intensity of Microsporidia MB infection in tissues of the midgut and gonads, and in carcasses, was determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. To investigate horizontal transmission, virgin males and females that were either Microsporidia MB-infected or non-infected were placed in standard cages for 48 h and allowed to mate; transmission was confirmed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction targeting Microsporidia MB genes.
resultsMicrosporidia MB was found to naturally occur at a low prevalence in An. gambiae s.s. collected in western Kenya. Microsporidia MB shortened the development time from larva to pupa, but other fitness parameters such as fecundity, sex ratio, and adult survival did not differ between Microsporidia MB-infected and non-infected hosts. Microsporidia MB intensities were high in the male gonadal tissues. Transmission experiments indicated that Microsporidia MB undergoes both maternal and horizontal transmission in An. gambiae s.s.
conclusionsThe findings that Microsporidia MB naturally infects, undergoes maternal and horizontal transmission, and is avirulent in An. gambiae s.s. indicate that many of the characteristics of its infection in An. arabiensis hold true for the former. The results of the present study indicate that Microsporidia MB could be developed as a tool for the transmission-blocking of malaria across different Anopheles species.
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