{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T15:12:58Z","timestamp":1789053178949,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,27]],"date-time":"2025-11-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1764201600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Open Philanthropy"},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000865","name":"Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["INV0225840"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["INV0225840"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000865","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Children\u2019s Investment Fund Foundation"},{"name":"National Research Foundation of South Africa","award":["SRUG2203311457"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SRUG2203311457"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100004441","name":"Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100004441","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100009131","name":"Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100009131","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000974","name":"Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000974","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100007843","name":"Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100007843","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"name":"German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development"},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100013987","name":"Government of the Republic of Kenya","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100013987","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Insects"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Microsporidia MB is a natural symbiont of Anopheles arabiensis Patton, 1905 that blocks Plasmodium transmission without compromising mosquito fitness. Developing this symbiont for malaria control requires a thorough understanding of its transmission dynamics across generations under environmentally relevant conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the transgenerational spread of Microsporidia MB in semi-field settings. From field-collected infected females (G0), several independent replicates of Microsporidia MB-infected An. arabiensis were established and maintained under semi-field conditions for six generations (F1\u2013F6). All the mosquitoes were screened for Microsporidia MB prevalence and infection intensity using qPCR after death. Temperature and humidity and wing size were recorded. Two replicates sustained through F6. Microsporidia MB prevalence and intensity increased from F1 to F3\u2013F4 before declining. A weak positive correlation was observed between prevalence and temperature, but not humidity. Female mosquitoes exhibited higher infection intensities. Female wing size varied across generations, while male size remained consistent. This first study on Microsporidia MB transgenerational transmission under semi-field conditions revealed a pattern of initial increase followed by decline in prevalence and intensity. The stability of male size supports the potential use of infected males in release programs. These findings underscore additional investigations into environmental drivers for mosquito symbiont prevalence.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/insects16121206","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,27]],"date-time":"2025-11-27T10:25:16Z","timestamp":1764239116000},"page":"1206","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Monitoring the Capacity of Microsporidia MB Transgenerational Spread in Anopheles arabiensis Populations"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5873-1808","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Godfred Yaw","family":"Boanyah","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Nairobi P.O. Box 30772-00100, Kenya"},{"name":"Wits Research Institute for Malaria, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4236-6345","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lizette L.","family":"Koekemoer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Wits Research Institute for Malaria, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa"},{"name":"Centre for Emerging Zoonotic & Parasitic Diseases, Division of the National Health Laboratory Service, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Johannesburg 2192, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jeremy K.","family":"Herren","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Nairobi P.O. Box 30772-00100, Kenya"},{"name":"Wits Research Institute for Malaria, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4291-9619","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tullu","family":"Bukhari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Nairobi P.O. Box 30772-00100, Kenya"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bukhari, T., Pevsner, R., and Herren, J.K. (2022). Microsporidia: A promising vector control tool for residual malaria transmission. Front. Trop. 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