Lilian Mbaisi

Rhodes University | RU · Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Biotechnology

Background: The discovery of the Anopheles symbiont, Microsporidia MB in An. arabiensis and the subsequent demonstration that it blocks malaria transmission, undergoes vertical and horizontal transmission suggests that it is a promising candidate for developing a symbiont-based malaria transmission-blocking strategy. We investigated the prevalence...

Microsporidia are spore-forming eukaryotes that are related to fungi but have unique traits that set them apart. They have compact genomes as a result of evolutionary gene loss associated with their complete dependency on hosts for survival. Despite having a relatively small number of genes, a disproportionately high percentage of the genes in micr...

The recently discovered Anopheles symbiont, Microsporidia MB, has a strong malaria transmission-blocking phenotype in Anopheles arabiensis, the predominant Anopheles gambiae species complex member in many active transmission areas in eastern Africa. The ability of Microsporidia MB to block Plasmodium transmission together with vertical transmission...

Anopheles mosquitoes are colonized by diverse microorganisms that may impact on host biology and vectorial capacity. Eukaryotic symbionts such as fungi have been isolated from Anopheles, but whether they are stably associated with mosquitoes and transmitted transstadially across mosquito life stages or to subsequent generations remains largely unex...

Malaria is a life-threatening tropical disease globally spreading out, and scientists have been seeking an effective way to control its prevalence. Here, we propose an innovative approach that prevents disease transmission by infecting mosquitoes with a newly found beneficial parasite.

A possible malaria control approach involves the dissemination in mosquitoes of inherited symbiotic microbes to block Plasmodium transmission. However, in the Anopheles gambiae complex, the primary African vectors of malaria, there are limited reports of inherited symbionts that impair transmission. We show that a vertically transmitted microsporid...

Malaria still imposes a huge disease burden on Africa and new control approaches are much needed. A new vertically transmitted species of Microsporidia was identified in the primary mosquito vector Anopheles arabiensis, at moderate prevalence in geographically dispersed populations in Kenya. Microsporidia MB infection is localized to the mosquito's...