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Poster Session

Poster Session

Poster Session

P12 - Fungal community composition in the main malaria vector Anopheles darlingi from different eco-epidemiological regions of Colombia

Wednesday, March 25, 2026
12:15 PM - 1:45 PM PDT
Location: Hall A

    Presenter(s)

  • MC

    Margarita M. Correa, MSc. PhD (she/her/hers)

    Professor, Researcher
    Uiversidad de Antioquia. Grupo Microbiología Molecular, Escuela de Microbiología, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia, Antioquia, Colombia

    • Co-Author(s)

  • PM

    Paola Muñoz-Laiton, n/a

    MSc Student
    Grupo Microbiología Molecular, Escuela de Microbiología, Universidad de Antioquia, Antioquia, Colombia

  • JH

    Juan Camilo Hernández-Valencia, n/a

    PhD
    Grupo Microbiología Molecular, Escuela de Microbiología, Universidad de Antioquia, Antioquia, Colombia

  • JI

    Juan Pablo Isaza, n/a

    PhD
    Grupo Biología de Sistemas, Escuela de Ciencias de La Salud, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Antioquia, Colombia

  • Stefani Piedrahita

    PhD student
    Grupo Microbiología Molecular, Escuela de Microbiología, Universidad de Antioquia, Antioquia, Colombia

  • NS

    Najara A.C. Santos, n/a

    Researcher
    Plataforma de Produção e Infecção de Vetores de Malária (PIVEM), Fiocruz Rondônia, Brazil, Rondonia, Brazil

  • MA

    Maisa S. Araujo, n/a

    Professor, Researcher
    Plataforma de Produção e Infecção de Vetores de Malária (PIVEM), Fiocruz Rondônia, Brazil, Rondonia, Brazil

  • JF

    Joana Falcão Salles, n/a

    Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands

Abstract: The mosquito Anopheles darlingi, the primary malaria vector in the Neotropics, plays a key role in Plasmodium transmission. As a holobiont, this vector hosts a complex microbiota; however, research has mainly focused on its bacterial component. Fungal communities and the factors influencing their composition remain largely unexplored. In this study the fungal community associated with An. darlingi from three eco-epidemiological regions of Colombia, the Bajo Cauca, Pacific and Amazonas, were characterized. Moreover, the effect of geography on community structure was assessed. The internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region was amplified and sequenced. The reads obtained were processed using the PIPITS pipeline. Ecological guilds of fungi were assigned using FUNGuild database. Results of alpha diversity showed the highest richness in mosquitoes from the Amazonas, while beta-diversity (Bray-Curtis) revealed a marginal significant difference in community composition among regions, particularly between Amazonas and the other two regions. Dominant fungal genera included Talaromyces, Diaporthe, Aspergillus, Alternaria, Penicillium, Candida and Pichia. Furthermore, other fungi identified, such as Fusarium, Metarhizium and Beauveria, are considered potential entomopathogens. Ecological guild associations showed predominance of saprotrophs (50.4%), followed by plant pathogens (17.5%), animal pathogens (14.0%) and endophytes (10.6%). This study provides a comprehensive characterization of the fungal microbiota of An. darlingi across distinct eco-epidemiological regions in Colombia. These findings broaden the understanding of the An. darlingi holobiont and lay the groundwork for exploring the potential roles of fungi in mosquito biology and vector control.