Delftia tsuruhatensis TC1 symbiont suppresses malaria transmission by anopheline mosquitoes Articles uri icon

authors

  • HUANG, WEI
  • RODRIGUES, JANNETH
  • BILGO, ETIENNE
  • TORMO, JOSÉ R.
  • CHALLENGER, JOSEPH D.
  • DE COZAR GALLARDO, CRISTINA
  • PEREZ VICTORIA, IGNACIO
  • REYES, FERNANDO
  • CASTAÑEDA CASADO, PABLO
  • GNAMBANI, EDOUNOU JACQUES
  • DE SALES HIEN, DOMONBABELE FRANCOISE
  • KONKOBO, MAURICE
  • URONES, BEATRIZ
  • COPPENS, ISABELLE
  • MENDOZA LOSANA, ALFONSO
  • BALLELL, LLUIS
  • DIABATE, ABDOULAYE
  • CHURCHER, THOMAS S.
  • JACOBS LORENA, MARCELO

publication date

  • August 2023

start page

  • 533

end page

  • 540

issue

  • 6657

volume

  • 381

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0036-8075

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1095-9203

abstract

  • Malaria control demands the development of a wide range of complementary strategies. We describe the properties of a naturally occurring, non–genetically modified symbiotic bacterium, Delftia tsuruhatensis TC1, which was isolated from mosquitoes incapable of sustaining the development of Plasmodium falciparum parasites. D. tsuruhatensis TC1 inhibits early stages of Plasmodium development and subsequent transmission by the Anopheles mosquito through secretion of a small-molecule inhibitor. We have identified this inhibitor to be the hydrophobic molecule harmane. We also found that, on mosquito contact, harmane penetrates the cuticle, inhibiting Plasmodium development. D. tsuruhatensis TC1 stably populates the mosquito gut, does not impose a fitness cost on the mosquito, and inhibits Plasmodium development for the mosquito"s life. Contained field studies in Burkina Faso and modeling showed that D. tsuruhatensis TC1 has the potential to complement mosquito-targeted malaria transmission control.

subjects

  • Biology and Biomedicine