Fig. 3

bCUBE-based detection of P. falciparum infection in pooled An. gambiae mosquitoes. Five different pool ratios were prepared, each containing a single P. falciparum-infected mosquito combined with various numbers of uninfected mosquitoes (ratios: 1:5, 1:10, 1:15, 1:20, and 1:25). A pool of 25 uninfected mosquitoes served as a negative control, while a single infected mosquito (1:0) was used as a positive control. The upper panel illustrates the experimental setup, showing the number of uninfected mosquitoes in each pool. The lower panel shows the bCUBE qPCR cycle threshold (Ct) values, indicating consistent detection of P. falciparum infection across all pooled ratios