Department of Parasitology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, P.O. Box LG 581, Legon, Accra, Ghana.
Malar J. 2024 Feb 12;23(1):45. doi: 10.1186/s12936-024-04870-w.
The male mosquito microbiome may be important for identifying ideal candidates for disease control. Among other criteria, mosquito-associated symbionts that have high localization in both male and female mosquitoes and are transmissible through both vertical and sexual routes are desirable. However, mosquito microbiome studies have mainly been female-focused. In this study, the microbiota of male and female Anopheles gambiae sensu lato (s.l.) were compared to identify shared or unique bacteria.
Late larval instars of Anopheles mosquitoes were collected from the field and raised to adults. Equal numbers of males and females of 1-day-old non-sugar-fed, 4-5-day-old sugar-fed and post-blood-fed females were randomly selected for whole-body analyses of bacteria 16S rRNA.
Results revealed that male and female mosquitoes generally share similar microbiota except when females were blood-fed. Compared to newly emerged unfed mosquitoes, feeding on sugar and/or blood increased variability in microbial composition (⍺-diversity), with a higher disparity among females (39% P = 0.01) than in males (29% P = 0.03). Elizabethkingia meningoseptica and Asaia siamensis were common discriminants between feeding statuses in both males and females. While E. meningoseptica was particularly associated with sugar-fed mosquitoes of both sexes and sustained after blood feeding in females, A. siamensis was also increased in sugar-fed mosquitoes but decreased significantly in blood-fed females (LDA score > 4.0, P < 0.05). Among males, A. siamensis did not differ significantly after sugar meals.
Results indicate the opportunities for stable infection in mosquitoes should these species be used in bacteria-mediated disease control. Further studies are recommended to investigate possible host-specific tissue tropism of bacteria species which will inform selection of the most appropriate microbes for effective transmission-blocking strategies.
雄蚊微生物组对于确定疾病控制的理想候选者可能很重要。除其他标准外，在雄蚊和雌蚊中高度定位且可通过垂直和性途径传播的蚊共生菌是理想的。然而，蚊微生物组的研究主要集中在雌性上。在这项研究中，比较了雄性和雌性冈比亚按蚊复合体（s.l.）的微生物群，以确定共享或独特的细菌。
从现场收集晚期幼虫期的按蚊，并将其饲养至成虫。随机选择 1 日龄未喂食、4-5 日龄喂食糖和吸血后雌蚊的等量雄性和雌性进行 16S rRNA 细菌的全身分析。
结果表明，雄性和雌性蚊子通常具有相似的微生物群，除非雌性吸血。与新出现的未喂食的蚊子相比，喂食糖和/或血液会增加微生物组成的可变性（α多样性），而雌性之间的差异更大（39% P=0.01）比雄性（29% P=0.03）。伊丽莎白菌和暹罗阿克西亚菌是雄性和雌性中区分摄食状态的常见判别因素。虽然 E. meningoseptica 特别与两性的糖喂蚊子有关，并在雌性吸血后持续存在，但 A. siamensis 在糖喂蚊子中也增加，但在吸血后的雌性中显著减少（LDA 评分>4.0，P<0.05）。在雄性中，A. siamensis 在糖餐后没有显著差异。
结果表明，如果这些物种用于细菌介导的疾病控制，这些物种应该有稳定感染蚊子的机会。建议进一步研究可能的宿主特异性细菌组织嗜性，这将为有效的阻断传播策略选择最合适的微生物提供信息。
