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Background  The entomopathogenic fungus  Metarhizium anisopliae  is being considered as a biocontrol agent for adult African malaria vectors. In the laboratory, work was carried out to assess whether horizontal transmission of the pathogen can take place during copulation, as this would enhance the impact of the fungus on target populations when compared with insecticides.    Methods  Virgin female  Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto  were exposed to conidia whilst resting on fungus-impregnated paper. These females were then placed together for one hour with uncontaminated males in proportions of either 1:1 or 1:10 shortly before the onset of mating activity.    Results  Males that had acquired fungal infection after mating indicate that passive transfer of the pathogen from infected females does occur, with mean male infection rates between 10.7 ± 3.2% and 33.3 ± 3.8%. The infections caused by horizontal transmission did not result in overall differences in survival between males from test and control groups, but in one of the three experiments the infected males had significantly shorter life spans than uninfected males ( P  < 0.05).    Conclusion  This study shows that autodissemination of fungal inoculum between  An. gambiae s.s . mosquitoes during mating activity is possible under laboratory conditions. Field studies are required next, to assess the extent to which this phenomenon may augment the primary contamination pathway (i.e. direct contact with fungus-impregnated targets) of vector populations in the field.

Autodissemination of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae amongst adults of the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae s.s.