Fig. 1

Colonization of the Anopheles gambiae midgut by Esp_Z and impact on Plasmodium falciparum sporogonic development. a Esp_Z was introduced into a mosquito cohort already containing a cocktail of naturally occurring bacteria through either a blood or sugar meal, and DNA extracted from ten midguts was sampled daily. The Esp_Z to 16S rRNA ratio was determined using Esp_Z-specific and universal 16S rRNA standard curves. b Female An. gambiae containing their endogenous microflora were provided with PBS or with Esp_Z at the indicated concentration (10× CFU/mL) suspended within 3 % sucrose. After 3 to 4 days of being allowed to feed on these suspensions, they were given a P. falciparum-infected blood meal, and oocyst numbers were determined 7 days later. Oocyst counts for three independent replicates are shown (Rep 1–3). Horizontal bars represent the median number of oocysts per treatment; inhibition (%) was estimated based on the comparison of these values to that of the PBS control. Prevalence represents the proportion of infected mosquitoes per group. Significance was determined using the Mann–Whitney test by comparing treatment groups to their respective control cohorts (*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001)