The composition and abundance of bacterial communities residing in the gut of Glossina palpalis palpalis captured in two sites of southern Cameroon.

Background: A number of reports have demonstrated the role of insect bacterial flora on their host's physiology and metabolism. The tsetse host and vector of trypanosomes responsible for human sleeping sickness (human African trypanosomiasis, HAT) and nagana in animals (African animal trypanosomiasis, AAT) carry bacteria that influence its diet and immune processes. However, the mechanisms involved in these processes remain poorly documented.

Correction: Application of a qPCR Assay in the Investigation of Susceptibility to Malaria Infection of the M and S Molecular Forms of An. gambiae s.s. in Cameroon.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Do the venous blood samples replicate malaria parasite densities found in capillary blood? A field study performed in naturally-infected asymptomatic children in Cameroon.

Background: The measure of new drug- or vaccine-based approaches for malaria control is based on direct membrane feeding assays (DMFAs) where gametocyte-infected blood samples are offered to mosquitoes through an artificial feeder system. Gametocyte donors are identified by the microscopic detection and quantification of malaria blood stages on blood films prepared using either capillary or venous blood. However, parasites are known to sequester in the microvasculature and this phenomenon may alter accurate detection of parasites in blood films.

Impact of exposure to mosquito transmission-blocking antibodies on Plasmodium falciparum population genetic structure.

Progress in malaria control has led to a significant reduction of the malaria burden. Interventions that interrupt transmission are now needed to achieve the elimination goal. Transmission-blocking vaccines (TBV) that aim to prevent mosquito infections represent promising tools and several vaccine candidates targeting different stages of the parasite's lifecycle are currently under development.

An epidemiologically successful Escherichia coli sequence type modulates Plasmodium falciparum infection in the mosquito midgut.

Malaria transmission relies on the successful development of Plasmodium parasites in the Anopheles mosquito vector. Within the mosquito midgut, malaria parasites encounter a resident bacterial flora and parasite-bacteria interactions modulate Plasmodium development. The mechanisms by which the bacteria interact with malaria parasites are still unknown.

Dynamics of Bacterial Community Composition in the Malaria Mosquito's Epithelia.

The Anopheles midgut hosts diverse bacterial communities and represents a complex ecosystem. Several evidences indicate that mosquito midgut microbiota interferes with malaria parasite transmission. However, the bacterial composition of salivary glands and ovaries, two other biologically important tissues, has not been described so far.

Prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum parasites resistant to sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine in pregnant women in Yaoundé, Cameroon: emergence of highly resistant pfdhfr/pfdhps alleles.

Objectives: To determine, 6 years after the adoption of intermittent preventive treatment of pregnant women with sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) in Cameroon, (i) the polymorphism and prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum dihydrofolate reductase (pfdhfr) and dihydropteroate synthase (pfdhps) gene mutations associated with sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine resistance and (ii) the consequences of sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine use in the selection of pfdhfr/pfdhps alleles.

Methods: pfdhfr and pfdhps genes from P. falciparum isolates collected in Yaoundé (Cameroon) from pregnant women with symptomatic malaria before taking IPTp-SP [SP- group (control) (n = 51)] or afterwards [SP+ group (n = 49)] were sequenced.

Plasmodium falciparum mating patterns and mosquito infectivity of natural isolates of gametocytes.

Plasmodium falciparum infections in malaria endemic areas often harbor multiple clones of parasites. However, the transmission success of the different genotypes within the mosquito vector has remained elusive so far. The genetic diversity of malaria parasites was measured by using microsatellite markers in gametocyte isolates from 125 asymptomatic carriers.

Anopheles gambiae salivary protein expression modulated by wild Plasmodium falciparum infection: highlighting of new antigenic peptides as candidates of An. gambiae bites.

Background: Malaria is the major parasitic disease worldwide caused by Plasmodium infection. The objective of integrated malaria control programs is to decrease malaria transmission, which needs specific tools to be accurately assessed. In areas where the transmission is low or has been substantially reduced, new complementary tools have to be developed to improve surveillance.

Composition of Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles gambiae microbiota from larval to adult stages.

During their immature life stages, malaria mosquitoes are exposed to a wide array of microbes and contaminants from the aquatic habitats. Although prior studies have suggested that environmental exposure shapes the microbial community structure in the adult mosquito, most reports have focused on laboratory-based experiments and on a single mosquito epithelium, the gut. In this study, we investigated the influence of the breeding site on the development of the Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles gambiae microbiota in natural conditions.

Modulation of malaria infection in Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes exposed to natural midgut bacteria.

The development of Plasmodium falciparum within the Anopheles gambiae mosquito relies on complex vector-parasite interactions, however the resident midgut microbiota also plays an important role in mediating parasite infection. In natural conditions, the mosquito microbial flora is diverse, composed of commensal and symbiotic bacteria. We report here the isolation of culturable midgut bacteria from mosquitoes collected in the field in Cameroon and their identification based on the 16S rRNA gene sequencing.

Application of a qPCR assay in the investigation of susceptibility to malaria infection of the M and S molecular forms of An. gambiae s.s. in Cameroon.

Plasmodium falciparum is the causative agent of malaria, a disease that kills almost one million persons each year, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa. P. falciparum is transmitted to the human host by the bite of an Anopheles female mosquito, and Anopheles gambiae sensus stricto is the most tremendous malaria vector in Africa, widespread throughout the afro-tropical belt.

Midgut microbiota of the malaria mosquito vector Anopheles gambiae and interactions with Plasmodium falciparum infection.

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.