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Functional genomic analyses of Enterobacter, Anopheles and Plasmodium reciprocal interactions that impact vector competence

Overview of attention for article published in Malaria Journal, August 2016
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  • In the top 25% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (83rd percentile)
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (83rd percentile)

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17 X users
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1 Facebook page
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1 Google+ user

Citations

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47 Dimensions

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121 Mendeley
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Title
Functional genomic analyses of Enterobacter, Anopheles and Plasmodium reciprocal interactions that impact vector competence
Published in
Malaria Journal, August 2016
DOI 10.1186/s12936-016-1468-2
Pubmed ID
Authors

Nathan J. Dennison, Raúl G. Saraiva, Chris M. Cirimotich, Godfree Mlambo, Emmanuel F. Mongodin, George Dimopoulos

Abstract

Malaria exerts a tremendous socioeconomic impact worldwide despite current control efforts, and novel disease transmission-blocking strategies are urgently needed. The Enterobacter bacterium Esp_Z, which is naturally harboured in the mosquito midgut, can inhibit the development of Plasmodium parasites prior to their invasion of the midgut epithelium through a mechanism that involves oxidative stress. Here, a multifaceted approach is used to study the tripartite interactions between the mosquito, Esp_Z and Plasmodium, towards addressing the feasibility of using sugar-baited exposure of mosquitoes to the Esp_Z bacterium for interruption of malaria transmission. The ability of Esp_Z to colonize Anopheles gambiae midguts harbouring microbiota derived from wild mosquitoes was determined by qPCR. Upon introduction of Esp_Z via nectar feeding, the permissiveness of colonized mosquitoes to Plasmodium falciparum infection was determined, as well as the impact of Esp_Z on mosquito fitness parameters, such as longevity, number of eggs laid and number of larvae hatched. The genome of Esp_Z was sequenced, and transcriptome analyses were performed to identify bacterial genes that are important for colonization of the mosquito midgut, as well as for ROS-production. A gene expression analysis of members of the oxidative defence pathway of Plasmodium berghei was also conducted to assess the parasite's oxidative defence response to Esp_Z exposure. Esp_Z persisted for up to 4 days in the An. gambiae midgut after introduction via nectar feeding, and was able to significantly inhibit Plasmodium sporogonic development. Introduction of this bacterium did not adversely affect mosquito fitness. Candidate genes involved in the selection of a better fit Esp_Z to the mosquito midgut environment and in its ability to condition oxidative status of its surroundings were identified, and parasite expression data indicated that Esp_Z is able to induce a partial and temporary shutdown of the ookinetes antioxidant response. Esp_Z is capable of inhibiting sporogonic development of Plasmodium in the presence of the mosquito's native microbiota without affecting mosquito fitness. Several candidate bacterial genes are likely mediating midgut colonization and ROS production, and inhibition of Plasmodium development appears to involve a shutdown of the parasite's oxidative defence system. A better understanding of the complex reciprocal tripartite interactions can facilitate the development and optimization of an Esp_Z-based malaria control strategy.

X Demographics

X Demographics

The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 17 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 121 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 121 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Ph. D. Student 21 17%
Student > Master 19 16%
Student > Bachelor 15 12%
Researcher 13 11%
Other 7 6%
Other 17 14%
Unknown 29 24%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 30 25%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 23 19%
Immunology and Microbiology 9 7%
Medicine and Dentistry 7 6%
Computer Science 2 2%
Other 13 11%
Unknown 37 31%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 10. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 19 May 2017.
All research outputs
#3,072,527
of 22,883,326 outputs
Outputs from Malaria Journal
#739
of 5,579 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#55,942
of 343,744 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Malaria Journal
#24
of 143 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,883,326 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done well and is in the 86th percentile: it's in the top 25% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 5,579 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 6.8. This one has done well, scoring higher than 86% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 343,744 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done well, scoring higher than 83% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 143 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 83% of its contemporaries.