title: Chromobacterium Csp_P reduces malaria and dengue infection in vector mosquitoes and has entomopathogenic and in vitro anti-pathogen activities.
abstract: Plasmodium and dengue virus, the causative agents of the two most devastating vector-borne diseases, malaria and dengue, are transmitted by the two most important mosquito vectors, Anopheles gambiae and Aedes aegypti, respectively. Insect-bacteria associations have been shown to influence vector competence for human pathogens through multi-faceted actions that include the elicitation of the insect immune system, pathogen sequestration by microbes, and bacteria-produced anti-pathogenic factors. These influences make the mosquito microbiota highly interesting from a disease control perspective. Here we present a bacterium of the genus Chromobacterium (Csp_P), which was isolated from the midgut of field-caught Aedes aegypti. Csp_P can effectively colonize the mosquito midgut when introduced through an artificial nectar meal, and it also inhibits the growth of other members of the midgut microbiota. Csp_P colonization of the midgut tissue activates mosquito immune responses, and Csp_P exposure dramatically reduces the survival of both the larval and adult stages. Ingestion of Csp_P by the mosquito significantly reduces its susceptibility to Plasmodium falciparum and dengue virus infection, thereby compromising the mosquito's vector competence. This bacterium also exerts in vitro anti-Plasmodium and anti-dengue activities, which appear to be mediated through Csp_P -produced stable bioactive factors with transmission-blocking and therapeutic potential. The anti-pathogen and entomopathogenic properties of Csp_P render it a potential candidate for the development of malaria and dengue control strategies.
authors.affiliation: W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jose Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Ramirez
authors.affiliation: W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Sarah M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Short
authors.affiliation: W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Ana C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Bahia
authors.affiliation: W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Raul G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Saraiva
authors.affiliation: W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Yuemei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Seokyoung
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Abhai
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tripathi
authors.affiliation: W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Godfree
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mlambo
authors.affiliation: W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dimopoulos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000382:microbiology*; D002861:Chromobacterium / Q000378:metabolism*; D009033:Culicidae; D003716:Dengue Virus; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000235:genetics; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008288:Malaria / Q000382:microbiology*; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000382:microbiology; D037521:Virulence Factors
chemical_list: D037521:Virulence Factors