Fuente: PubMed "industrial biotechnology" Acta Trop. 2026 Mar 7:108045. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2026.108045. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTWolbachia is an endosymbiotic bacterium widely distributed among arthropods and has been reported in Anopheles gambiae s.l. Transmitted maternally, Wolbachia can manipulate host reproductive biology and has the ability to reduce or block the transmission of pathogens. This study aimed to analyze the genetic diversity of Wolbachia strains infecting the An. gambiae complex in Côte d'Ivoire. Larvae of An. gambiae s.l. were collected from Boundiali, Korhogo, Bouaké, Abidjan, and Bingerville between November and December 2024 and reared under laboratory conditions. Adult mosquitoes belonging to the An. gambiae complex were identified using species-specific allelic PCR. Female mosquitoes of the identified species were screened for Wolbachia DNA and confirmed by Sanger sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Evolutionary divergence of 16S rRNA sequences was estimated using general time reversible model and gamma distribution prior to phylogenetic tree construction. Overall, 74.57% of specimens were identified as An. gambiae s.s., 21.73% as An. coluzzii, and 3.46% as hybrids. Wolbachia infection prevalence varied among species, with a higher infection rate observed in An. coluzzii (23.60%) compared to An. gambiae s.s. (12.42%). Phylogenetic analysis identified a Wolbachia strain, designated wAnga_CI, which clustered within supergroup B. Phylogenetic analysis revealed evidence of geographic structuring among Wolbachia strains. Our findings demonstrate that wild populations of An. gambiae s.l. in Côte d'Ivoire harbor Wolbachia strains. Among the members of the An. gambiae complex, An. coluzzii shows the highest prevalence of Wolbachia infection, highlighting species-specific patterns that may have implications for vector biology and future Wolbachia-based control strategies.PMID:41802556 | DOI:10.1016/j.actatropica.2026.108045