Mosquito symbioses: From basic research to the paratransgenic control of mosquito-borne diseases

Mosquito-borne diseases pose significant concerns in public health. Microbial symbionts of mosquitoes are attracting quite a lot of interest in relation to the development of novel strategies aimed to reduce mosquito vectorial capacity with particular regard to paratransgenesis that relies on genetically modified mosquito symbionts to express molecules within the vector able to interfere with parasite development and transmission. Here, we review the present status of the knowledge of mosquito– symbionts relationships, focusing on perspective in the application of symbiotic control in developing an efficient management of mosquito- borne diseases.