Microsporidian Infection in Mosquitoes (Culicidae) Is Associated with Gut Microbiome Composition and Predicted Gut Microbiome Functional Content

Abstract

The animal gut microbiota consist of many different microorganisms, mainly bacteria, but archaea, fungi, protozoans, and viruses may also be present. This complex and dynamic community of microorganisms may change during parasitic infection. In the present study, we investigated the effect of the presence of microsporidians on the composition of the mosquito gut microbiota and linked some microbiome taxa and functionalities to infections caused by these parasites. We characterised bacterial communities of 188 mosquito females, of which 108 were positive for microsporidian DNA. To assess how bacterial communities change during microsporidian infection, microbiome structures were identified using 16S rRNA microbial profiling. In total, we identified 46 families and four higher taxa, of which Comamonadaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, Flavobacteriaceae and Pseudomonadaceae were the most abundant mosquito-associated bacterial families. Our data suggest that the mosquito gut microbial composition varies among host species. In addition, we found a correlation between the microbiome composition and the presence of microsporidians. The prediction of metagenome functional content from the 16S rRNA gene sequencing suggests that microsporidian infection is characterised by some bacterial species capable of specific metabolic functions, especially the biosynthesis of ansamycins and vancomycin antibiotics and the pentose phosphate pathway. Moreover, we detected a positive correlation between the presence of microsporidian DNA and bacteria belonging to Spiroplasmataceae and Leuconostocaceae, each represented by a single species, Spiroplasma sp. PL03 and Weissella cf. viridescens, respectively. Additionally, W. cf. viridescens was observed only in microsporidian-infected mosquitoes. More extensive research, including intensive and varied host sampling, as well as determination of metabolic activities based on quantitative methods, should be carried out to confirm our results.

Effect of Cation Sorption on 2,4-D Mobility of Herbicidal Ionic Liquids in Agricultural Soil Combined with Diversity of the Bacterial Community

“…27 Amplicons were sequenced using the Ion Torrent S5 system (Life Technologies, Carlsbad, CA) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Read processing and data analysis were conducted according to Trzebny et al 28 For details, see Supporting Information sections 1.6.1−2. LC-MS/MS Analysis.…”

Bacterial Community Diversity and Bacterial Interaction Network in Eight Mosquito Species

“…The bacterial composition of the microbiota of these invertebrates depends on several factors, such as sex, larval habitat, developmental stage, environment, and species. It can also be related to microsporidian infection [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. Bacteria from the microbiota can influence mosquitoes’ physiology, metabolism, and adaptation [ 4 ].…”

“…aegypti can be low because of the competitive exclusion with Cedecea [ 21 ]. Interactions between bacteria, viruses, microsporidian, fungi and Plasmodium also changes the bacterial community [ 6 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Specimens of Culex pipiens infected with the West Nile virus showed an increased proportion of Serratia [ 26 ].…”

“…PL03 and Weissela cf. viridescens depends on microsporidia infection in the mosquito gut [ 6 ], and the bacterial microbiota was distinct between specimens of An. gambiae and Anopheles funestus that were positive and negative groups for Plasmodium falciparum [ 22 ].…”

High temperatures and low humidity promote the occurrence of microsporidians (Microsporidia) in mosquitoes (Culicidae)

“…In addition, infected females are more likely to die and significantly less likely to feed. Moreover, these parasites may manipulate both the composition of the microbiome and the immune response of mosquitoes [11][12][13][14][15].…”