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. 2018 Oct 4;18(1):126.
doi: 10.1186/s12866-018-1266-9.

Estimating bacteria diversity in different organs of nine species of mosquito by next generation sequencing

M V Mancini  1   2 , C Damiani  1 , A Accoti  3 , M Tallarita  3 , E Nunzi  3 , A Cappelli  1 , J Bozic  1 , R Catanzani  3 , P Rossi  1 , M Valzano  1 , A Serrao  1 , I Ricci  1 , R Spaccapelo  4 , G Favia  5
Affiliations

Estimating bacteria diversity in different organs of nine species of mosquito by next generation sequencing

M V Mancini et al. BMC Microbiol. .

Abstract

Background: Symbiosis in insects is accumulating significant amount of studies: the description of a wide array of mutualistic associations across the evolutionary history of insects suggests that resident microbiota acts as a driving force by affecting several aspects of hosts biology. Among arthropods, mosquito midgut microbiota has been largely investigated, providing crucial insights on the role and implications of host-symbiont relationships. However, limited amount of studies addressed their efforts on the investigation of microbiota colonizing salivary glands and reproductive tracts, crucial organs for pathogen invasion and vertical transmission of symbiotic microorganisms. Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing-based approach, we analysed the microbiota of gut, salivary glands and reproductive tracts of several mosquito species, representing some of the main vectors of diseases, aiming at describing the dynamics of bacterial communities within the individual.

Results: We identified a shared core microbiota between different mosquito species, although interesting inter- and intra-species differences were detected. Additionally, our results showed deep divergences between genera, underlining microbiota specificity and adaptation to their host.

Conclusions: The comprehensive landscape of the bacterial microbiota components may ultimately provide crucial insights and novel targets for possible application of symbionts in innovative strategies for the control of vector borne diseases, globally named Symbiotic Control (SC), and suggesting that the holobiont of different mosquito species may significantly vary. Moreover, mosquito species are characterized by distinctive microbiota in different organs, likely reflecting different functions and/or adaptation processes.

Keywords: Metagenomics; Mosquitoes; Symbionts.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Research carried out on invertebrate such as mosquitoes do not require a specific permit according to the directive 2010/63/EUof the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interest.

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Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Phylum level composition (% of OTUs) in different organs of nine mosquito species. All OTUs are represented, except the unassigned (0,1%). R.O.: reproductive organs; S.G.: salivary glands; ♀: females; ♂: males
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA) plots of samples colored according to different organs. a Mosquitoes reproductive organs from females (♀) and males (♂). b Salivary glands from female mosquito species. c Mosquito guts from females (♀) and males (♂). d Merge figure from panel a, b and c. GA G3: An. gambiae G3; COL: An. coluzzii; QUAD: An. quadriannulatus; GA KIS: An. gambiae Kisumu; ARA: An. arabiensis; MER: An. merus; STEP: An. stephensi; ALB: Ae. albopictus; AEG: Ae. aegypti; QUINQ: Cx. quinquefasciatus
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Class level composition (% of OTUs) in different organs of nine mosquito species. Only OTUs representing > 1% of the total reads are represented here. The class color code is given for (a), (b) and (c). GA G3: An. gambiae G3; COL: An. coluzzii; QUAD: An. quadriannulatus; GA KIS: An. gambiae Kisumu; ARA: An. arabiensis; MER: An. merus; STEP: An. stephensi; ALB: Ae. albopictus; AEG: Ae. aegypti; QUINQ: Cx. quinquefasciatus; ♀: females; ♂: males
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Genus level composition (% of OTUs) in different organs of nine mosquito species. Only OTUs representing > 1% of the total reads are represented here. The genus color code is given for (a), (b) and (c). GA G3: An. gambiae G3; COL: An. coluzzii; QUAD: An. quadriannulatus; GA KIS: An. gambiae Kisumu; ARA: An. arabiensis; MER: An. merus; STEP: An. stephensi; ALB: Ae. albopictus; AEG: Ae. aegypti; QUINQ: Cx. quinquefasciatus; ♀: females; ♂: males
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