title: Natural microbe-mediated refractoriness to Plasmodium infection in Anopheles gambiae.
abstract: Malaria parasite transmission depends on the successful transition of Plasmodium through discrete developmental stages in the lumen of the mosquito midgut. Like the human intestinal tract, the mosquito midgut contains a diverse microbial flora, which may compromise the ability of Plasmodium to establish infection. We have identified an Enterobacter bacterium isolated from wild mosquito populations in Zambia that renders the mosquito resistant to infection with the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum by interfering with parasite development before invasion of the midgut epithelium. Phenotypic analyses showed that the anti-Plasmodium mechanism requires small populations of replicating bacteria and is mediated through a mosquito-independent interaction with the malaria parasite. We show that this anti-Plasmodium effect is largely caused by bacterial generation of reactive oxygen species.
authors.affiliation: W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205-2179, USA.
authors.forename: Chris M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Cirimotich
authors.forename: Yuemei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: April M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Clayton
authors.forename: Simone L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Sandiford
authors.forename: Jayme A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Souza-Neto
authors.forename: Musapa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mulenga
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dimopoulos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D004064:Digestive System / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology; D004754:Enterobacter / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology; D010962:Plasmodium berghei / Q000254:growth & development; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism*; D015024:Zambia
chemical_list: D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species