Department of Environmental Sciences, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT, USA.
Department of Pathology, Institute for Human Infections and Immunity, Center for Tropical Diseases, Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Disease, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, USA.
Sci Rep. 2020 Jul 2;10(1):10880. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-67811-y.
The microbiome is an assemblage of microorganisms living in association with a multicellular host. Numerous studies have identified a role for the microbiome in host physiology, development, immunity, and behaviour. The generation of axenic (germ-free) and gnotobiotic model systems has been vital to dissecting the role of the microbiome in host biology. We have previously reported the generation of axenic Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the primary vector of several human pathogenic viruses, including dengue virus and Zika virus. In order to better understand the influence of the microbiome on mosquitoes, we examined the transcriptomes of axenic and conventionally reared Ae. aegypti before and after a blood meal. Our results suggest that the microbiome has a much lower effect on the mosquito's gene expression than previously thought with only 170 genes influenced by the axenic state, while in contrast, blood meal status influenced 809 genes. The pattern of expression influenced by the microbiome is consistent with transient changes similar to infection rather than sweeping physiological changes. While the microbiome does seem to affect some pathways such as immune function and metabolism, our data suggest the microbiome is primarily serving a nutritional role in development with only minor effects in the adult.
微生物组是生活在多细胞宿主相关联的微生物集合体。大量研究已经确定了微生物组在宿主生理、发育、免疫和行为中的作用。无菌（无微生物）和无菌动物模型系统的产生对于剖析微生物组在宿主生物学中的作用至关重要。我们之前已经报道了无菌埃及伊蚊（几种人类致病病毒的主要载体，包括登革热病毒和寨卡病毒）的产生。为了更好地了解微生物组对蚊子的影响，我们在吸血前后检查了无菌和常规饲养的埃及伊蚊的转录组。我们的结果表明，与先前的想法相反，微生物组对蚊子的基因表达的影响要小得多，只有 170 个基因受到无菌状态的影响，而相比之下，饮食状态影响了 809 个基因。受微生物组影响的表达模式与类似感染的短暂变化一致，而不是全面的生理变化。虽然微生物组似乎确实影响了一些途径，如免疫功能和新陈代谢，但我们的数据表明，微生物组主要在发育过程中发挥营养作用，在成虫期的影响较小。
