Evidence for natural hybridization and novel strain superinfections in the complex from Guinea.

, a widespread bacterium which can influence mosquito-borne pathogen transmission, has recently been detected within (.) species that are malaria vectors in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although studies have reported strains in the complex, apparent low density and prevalence rates require confirmation. In this study, wild mosquitoes collected from two regions of Guinea were investigated. In contrast with previous studies, RNA was extracted from adult females ( = 516) to increase the chances for the detection of actively expressed genes, determine prevalence rates and estimate relative strain densities. Molecular confirmation of mosquito species and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) were carried out to analyse phylogenetic relationships of mosquito hosts and newly discovered strains. Strains were detected in (prevalence rate of 11.6%-16/138) and hybrids between and sensu stricto (prevalence rate of 40.0%-6/15) from Senguelen in the Maferinyah region. Furthermore, a novel high-density strain, termed AnsX, was found in an unclassified species. The discovery of novel strains (particularly in members, and hybrids, of the complex) provides further candidate strains that could be used for future -based malaria biocontrol strategies.