FLEURIANE DJONDJI

Background

Fleuriane Djondji is a committed microbiologist with a solid academic foundation and in-depth expertise in medical bacteriology. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Ngaoundéré in 2013, followed by a Master’s degree in Microbiology from the University of Yaoundé I, which she completed in 2018. For her Master’s studies, she conducted research on the isolation and identification of bacterial flora associated with recurrent periodontitis, utilising macroscopic and microscopic morphological analysis, as well as physiological and biochemical characterisation methods. This has involved carrying out antibiotic susceptibility tests and using bacterial identification systems such as API 20E, API 20NE, API Staph and API 20 Strep. In the second phase of her research, she extracted essential oils from indigenous medicinal plants and evaluated their in vitro antimicrobial activity (Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC)) against the previously isolated bacterial strains, to compare their efficacy with conventional antibiotics used in odontostomatology. This research led to the development of plant-based mouthwashes designed as a palliative treatment for recurrent oral infections. Since 2020, as part of her PhD at the Centre for Research on Infectious Diseases (CRID), she has been investigating the association between the microbiota and exacerbation of pyrethroid resistance in malaria vectors. In 2024, she was appointed as a Research Assistant within the AvecGen project at the same research institution, a program focused on uncovering the bacterial molecular mechanisms underlying enhanced insecticide resistance.

Research

Her research focuses on deciphering the interactions between hosts and their microbiota in disease vectors (such as Anopheles, Aedes and Culex mosquitoes), and understanding how these interactions drive the evolution of insecticide resistance. She aims to investigate how microbial communities — both endogenous (host-associated) and exogenous (environment-derived) — influence the physiological and adaptive responses of mosquitoes to higher concentrations of insecticides. To address these questions, she employs a multidisciplinary approach integrating advanced molecular techniques such as DNA extraction, PCR and qPCR, as well as classical microbiological methods (culture, isolation and identification of bacterial strains from resistant and susceptible mosquitoes). She also conducts high-throughput bioinformatic analyses of the 16S rRNA gene using specialised pipelines such as Mothur, QIIME2, R and the MicrobiomeAnalyst platform. Building on this foundation, she plans to broaden her expertise by validating key microbial genes and conducting whole-genome and transcriptome analyses of candidate bacterial strains. These investigations are conducted on both wild mosquito populations collected in the field and their progeny reared under controlled laboratory conditions. The ultimate goal is to identify reliable microbial signatures associated with insecticide resistance, in order to inform the development of innovative, microbiota-based strategies for integrated vector management.

• Areas of interest:

Fleuriane Djondji’s research interests lie at the intersection of vector biology, microbial ecology and insecticide resistance. Her work focuses on : –       Identifying microbiome profiles associated to the escalation of insecticide resistance. –       Detecting microbial genes involved in insecticide detoxification mechanisms. –       Designing microbiota-based biomarkers for early detection of resistance hotspots. –       Investigating the impact of engineering or introducing symbiotic bacteria in mosquitoes’ physiology and resistance phenotype. –       Assessing how abiotic factors such as water quality, temperature, and insecticide pressure of larval breeding sites of mosquitoes could affect the adult mosquito microbiota and resistance profile.

• An overview of research areas:

Microbiome, Insecticide resistance, Vector biology, Bioinformatics analysis of microbial data (16S rRNA, WGS and ARN seq), Functional validation of microbial genes

Other Relevant  Expertise, Professional Memberships

-Cameroon Bioscience Society (CBS) – American Society of Microbiology (ASM);

 

• Supervisor

Prof. Charles Wondji

• Research groups

-Member of Wondji Research Unit (WoRu) at CRID

• Publications

  • – Djondji Kamga FM, Jean Mugenzi LM, Ngannang-Fezeu VB, Ngambia Freitas FS, Bouaka Tsakeng CU, Sandeu MM, Tchouakui M, Wondji CS. Evidence of microbiome contribution to the escalation of pyrethroid resistance in the major malaria vectors Anopheles gambiae s.s. and Anopheles funestus s.s. BMC Microbiol. 2025 Jul 2;25(1):384. PMID: 40604391; PMCID: PMC12220112. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12866-025-04114-0 – Tatsinkou Maffo CG, Sandeu MM, Tchoupo M, Djondji Kamga FM, Mugenzi LMJ, Njiokou F, Hughes GL, Wondji CS. Contrasting patterns of Asaia association with Plasmodium falciparum between field-collected Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles coluzzii from Cameroon. Microbiol Spectr. 2024 Nov 12;12(12):e0056724. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.00567-24. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39530680; PMCID: PMC11619320. https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.00567-24 – Djondji Kamga FM, Mugenzi LMJ, Tchouakui M, Sandeu MM, Maffo CGT, Nyegue MA, Wondji CS. Contrasting Patterns of Asaia Association with Pyrethroid Resistance Escalation between the Malaria Vectors Anopheles funestus and Anopheles gambiae. Microorganisms. 2023 Mar 2;11(3):644. PMID: 36985217; PMCID: PMC10053915. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11030644   – Ngongang Tchami D., Nyegue MA., Djondji MF, Ngonsu Kamga H., Moni Ndedi EDF and Etoa FX (2018), Assessment of four essential oils against bacterial species isolated from patients with oral infection, Asian Journal of Research in Biological and Pharmaceutical Science, 6(2): 44-57.