The mosquito gut microbiome and Plasmodium development: a scoping review of molecular approaches and implications for malaria vector control

Background

Malaria remains a major health burden, with an estimated 282 million cases and approximately 610,000 deaths recorded in 2024. The increasing prevalence of insecticide-resistant Anopheles vectors and drug-resistant Plasmodium strains has substantially eroded the efficacy of conventional control strategies, underscoring the critical need for innovative approaches. Accumulating evidence suggest that the mosquito midgut microbiome exerts a significant influence on Plasmodium sporogonic development; however, no scoping investigation has fully mapped the metagenomic evidence base in this field.