Facing malaria parasite with mosquito symbionts. In Malaria Parasites.

Microbial symbiosis is an ubiquitous aspect of insect life and plays a fundamental role in the adaptation of insects to the most diverse environments. A very large proportion of insects are supposed to carry bacterial symbionts (Chaves et al., 2009). The variety of the relationships between symbionts and insects are very wide as well as biological function exerted by the symbionts and their localisation within the host. In fact, some are located within host cells while some others are outside. The genetic modification of microbial symbionts has been identified as novel tools to fight insect pests and vectors of infectious diseases. In this frame, in the last years, the use of manipulated symbiont has attracted a lot of attention for the potential application in the control of mosquito-borne diseases, with particular interest to malaria control.