Comprehensive characterization of internal and cuticle surface microbiota of laboratory-reared F1 Anopheles albimanus originating from different sites

• Published in: Malaria Journal
• Main Authors: Nsa Dada, Ana Cristina Benedict, Francisco López, Juan C. Lol, Mili Sheth, Nicole Dzuris, Norma Padilla, Audrey Lenhart
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2021
• Subjects: Mosquito microbiota; Anopheles albimanus; Laboratory colonization; Mosquito microbiome; Next generation sequencing; 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-021-03934-5; https://doaj.org/article/c0f644c9c3554ca9ae617c5937bda463

Abstract Background Research on mosquito-microbe interactions may lead to new tools for mosquito and mosquito-borne disease control. To date, such research has largely utilized laboratory-reared mosquitoes that typically lack the microbial diversity of wild populations. A logical progression in this area involves working under controlled settings using field-collected mosquitoes or, in most cases, their progeny. Thus, an understanding of how laboratory colonization affects the assemblage of mosquito microbiota would aid in advancing mosquito microbiome studies and their applications beyond laboratory settings. Methods Using high throughput 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, the internal and cuticle surface microbiota of F1 progeny of wild-caught adult Anopheles albimanus from four locations in Guatemala were characterized. A total of 132 late instar larvae and 135 2–5 day-old, non-blood-fed virgin adult females that were reared under identical laboratory conditions, were pooled (3 individuals/pool) and analysed. Results Results showed location-associated heterogeneity in both F1 larval internal (p = 0.001; pseudo-F = 9.53) and cuticle surface (p = 0.001; pseudo-F = 8.51) microbiota, and only F1 adult cuticle surface (p = 0.001; pseudo-F = 4.5) microbiota, with a more homogenous adult internal microbiota (p = 0.12; pseudo-F = 1.6) across collection sites. Overall, ASVs assigned to Leucobacter, Thorsellia, Chryseobacterium and uncharacterized Enterobacteriaceae, dominated F1 larval internal microbiota, while Acidovorax, Paucibacter, and uncharacterized Comamonadaceae, dominated the larval cuticle surface. F1 adults comprised a less diverse microbiota compared to larvae, with ASVs assigned to the genus Asaia dominating both internal and cuticle surface microbiota, and constituting at least 70% of taxa in each microbial niche. Conclusions These results suggest that location-specific heterogeneity in filed mosquito microbiota can be transferred to F1 progeny under normal laboratory conditions, but this may not last beyond ...