Field Eleanor N, Smith Ryan C
Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, United States.
Front Insect Sci. 2023 May 25;3:1144072. doi: 10.3389/finsc.2023.1144072. eCollection 2023.
Mosquitoes are the most important animal vector of disease on the planet, transmitting a variety of pathogens of both medical and veterinary importance. Mosquito-borne diseases display distinct seasonal patterns driven by both environmental and biological variables. However, an important, yet unexplored component of these patterns is the potential for seasonal influences on mosquito physiology that may ultimately influence vector competence. To address this question, we selected , a primary vector of the West Nile virus (WNV) in the temperate United States, to examine the seasonal impacts on mosquito physiology by examining known immune and bacterial components implicated in mosquito arbovirus infection. Semi-field experiments were performed under spring, summer, and late-summer conditions, corresponding to historically low-, medium-, and high-intensity periods of WNV transmission, respectively. Through these experiments, we observed differences in the expression of immune genes and RNA interference (RNAi) pathway components, as well as changes in the distribution and abundance of in the mosquitoes across seasonal cohorts. Together, these findings support the conclusion that seasonal changes significantly influence mosquito physiology and components of the mosquito microbiome, suggesting that seasonality may impact mosquito susceptibility to pathogen infection, which could account for the temporal patterns in mosquito-borne disease transmission.
蚊子是地球上最重要的疾病动物传播媒介，传播多种具有医学和兽医学重要性的病原体。蚊媒疾病呈现出由环境和生物变量驱动的独特季节性模式。然而，这些模式中一个重要但尚未探索的组成部分是季节对蚊子生理的潜在影响，这可能最终影响媒介能力。为了解决这个问题，我们选择了在美国温带地区作为西尼罗河病毒（WNV）的主要传播媒介，通过研究已知与蚊子虫媒病毒感染有关的免疫和细菌成分，来研究季节对蚊子生理的影响。在春季、夏季和夏末条件下进行了半野外实验，分别对应于西尼罗河病毒传播的历史低、中、高强度时期。通过这些实验，我们观察到免疫基因和RNA干扰（RNAi）途径成分的表达差异，以及不同季节组蚊子体内的分布和丰度变化。这些发现共同支持了这样的结论：季节变化显著影响蚊子的生理和蚊子微生物群的组成部分，这表明季节性可能影响蚊子对病原体感染的易感性，这可以解释蚊媒疾病传播的时间模式。
