Advances in mosquito gut microbiota: Mechanisms of regulating pathogen transmission and applications in vector control.

Mosquito gut microbiota-based strategies reduced dengue incidence by up to 86.2%, offering a promising alternative to traditional control methods hindered by resistance and vaccine limits.

• Why it matters: Controlling mosquito-borne diseases is critical for global health, but current methods face challenges like insecticide resistance and slow vaccine development, necessitating innovative solutions.
• What they did: The review summarizes mechanisms of symbiont-mediated pathogen blocking and evaluates three approaches—Wolbachia-based replacement, engineered symbionts, and probiotics—based on large-scale field trials involving over 77% reduction in dengue cases.
• The result: This microbiota-centered approach enables sustainable vector control, with future improvements focusing on multi-strategy integration, engineered symbionts, and AI-driven precision, despite existing ecological and regulatory hurdles.