Leucine-Rich Immune Factor APL1 Is Associated With Specific Modulation of Enteric Microbiome Taxa in the Asian Malaria Mosquito .

The commensal gut microbiome is contained by the enteric epithelial barrier, but little is known about the degree of specificity of host immune barrier interactions for particular bacterial taxa. Here, we show that depletion of leucine-rich repeat immune factor APL1 in the Asian malaria mosquito is associated with higher midgut abundance of just the family , and not generalized dysbiosis of the microbiome. The effect is explained by the response of a narrow clade containing two main taxa related to and . Analysis of field samples indicate that these two taxa are recurrent members of the wild microbiome. Triangulation using sequence and functional data incriminated relatives of and NFIX57 as candidates for the component, and , , and LTGPAF-6F as candidates for the component. APL1 presence is associated with host ability to specifically constrain the abundance of a narrow microbiome clade of the , and the immune factor may promote homeostasis of this clade in the enteric microbiome for host benefit.