Influence of midgut microbiota in Anopheles stephensi on Plasmodium berghei infections

• Published in: Malaria Journal
• Main Authors: Devaiah Monnanda Kalappa, Pradeep Annamalai Subramani, Sowmya Kanchanahalli Basavanna, Susanta Kumar Ghosh, Varadharajan Sundaramurthy, Sreehari Uragayala, Satyanarayan Tiwari, Anupkumar R. Anvikar, Neena Valecha
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2018
• Subjects: Malaria; Anopheles; Mosquitoes; Microbiota; Plasmodium berghei; Veillonella; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-018-2535-7; https://doaj.org/article/6666a00c4d9146f59fcaebfe9d4c6c0e

Abstract Background The native gut microbiota of Anopheles mosquitoes is known to play a key role in the physiological function of its host. Interestingly, this microbiota can also influence the development of Plasmodium in its host mosquitoes. In recent years, much interest has been shown in the employment of gut symbionts derived from vectors in the control of vector-borne disease transmission. In this study, the midgut microbial diversity has been characterized among laboratory-reared adult Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes, from the colony created by rearing progeny of wild-caught mosquitoes (obtained from three different locations in southern India) for multiple generations, using 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequencing approach. Further, the influence of native midgut microbiota of mosquitoes on the development of rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei in its host has been studied. Methods The microbial diversity associated with the midgut of An. stephensi mosquitoes was studied by sequencing V3 region of 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene. The influence of native midgut microbiota of An. stephensi mosquitoes on the susceptibility of the mosquitoes to rodent malaria parasite P. berghei was studied by comparing the intensity and prevalence of P. berghei infection among the antibiotic treated and untreated cohorts of mosquitoes. Results The analysis of bacterial diversity from the midguts of An. stephensi showed Proteobacteria as the most dominant population among the three laboratory-reared strains of An. stephensi studied. Major genera identified among these mosquito strains were Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Prevotella, Corynebacterium, Veillonella, and Bacillus. The mosquito infectivity studies carried out to determine the implication of total midgut microbiota on P. berghei infection showed that mosquitoes whose native microbiota cleared with antibiotics had increased susceptibility to P. berghei infection compared to the antibiotic untreated mosquitoes with its natural native microbiota. Conclusions The use ...