Exploring the Diversity of Microbial Communities Associated with Two Anopheles Species During Dry Season in an Indigenous Community from the Colombian Amazon

Malaria disease affects millions of people annually, making the Amazon Basin a major hotspot in the Americas. While traditional control strategies rely on physical and chemical methods, the <i>Anopheles</i> microbiome offers a promising avenue for biological control, as certain bacteria can inhibit parasite development and alter vector immune and reproductive systems, disrupting the transmission cycle. For this reason, this study aimed to explore the bacterial communities in <i>An. darlingi</i> and <i>An. triannulatus</i> s.l., including breeding sites, immature stages, and adults from San Pedro de los Lagos (Leticia, Amazonas) through next-generation sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. The results revealed a higher bacterial genus richness in the L1-L2 larvae of <i>An. triannulatus</i> s.l. <i>Aeromonas</i> and <i>Enterobacter</i> were prevalent in most samples, with abundances of 52.51% in L3-L4 larvae and 48.88% in pupae of <i>An. triannulatus</i> s.l., respectively. In breeding site water, Verrucomicrobiota bacteria were the most dominant (52.39%). We also identified <i>Delftia</i> (15.46%) in <i>An. triannulatus</i> s.l. pupae and Asaia (98.22%) in <i>An. triannulatus</i>, linked to <i>Plasmodium</i> inhibition, and <i>Elizabethkingia</i>, in low abundances, along with <i>Klebsiella</i> and <i>Serratia</i>, known for paratransgenesis potential. Considering the high bacterial diversity observed across the different mosquito life stages, identifying bacterial composition is the first step towards developing new strategies for malaria control. However, the specific roles of these bacteria in anophelines and the malaria transmission cycle remain to be elucidated.