title: The reproductive tracts of two malaria vectors are populated by a core microbiome and by gender- and swarm-enriched microbial biomarkers.
abstract: Microbes play key roles in shaping the physiology of insects and can influence behavior, reproduction and susceptibility to pathogens. In Sub-Saharan Africa, two major malaria vectors, Anopheles gambiae and An. coluzzii, breed in distinct larval habitats characterized by different microorganisms that might affect their adult physiology and possibly Plasmodium transmission. We analyzed the reproductive microbiomes of male and female An. gambiae and An. coluzzii couples collected from natural mating swarms in Burkina Faso. 16S rRNA sequencing on dissected tissues revealed that the reproductive tracts harbor a complex microbiome characterized by a large core group of bacteria shared by both species and all reproductive tissues. Interestingly, we detected a significant enrichment of several gender-associated microbial biomarkers in specific tissues, and surprisingly, similar classes of bacteria in males captured from one mating swarm, suggesting that these males originated from the same larval breeding site. Finally, we identified several endosymbiotic bacteria, including Spiroplasma, which have the ability to manipulate insect reproductive success. Our study provides a comprehensive analysis of the reproductive microbiome of important human disease vectors, and identifies a panel of core and endosymbiotic bacteria that can be potentially exploited to interfere with the transmission of malaria parasites by the Anopheles mosquito.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Integrative Biology, University of Trento, Trento, Italy.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Segata
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA.|Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, United Kingdom.|Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Scienze Biochimiche, Università degli Studi di Perugia, 06100 Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Baldini
authors.affiliation: UPR9022 CNRS, U963 Inserm, Université de Strasbourg, 15 rue R. Descartes, 67084 Strasbourg, France.|MIVEGEC (Maladies Infectieuses et vecteurs: écologie, génétique, évolution et controle), UMR IRD-CNRS-UM1-UM2, 34394 Montpellier, France.|Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore 169857.
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pompon
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA.|Department of Genetics and Complex Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA.|Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.|Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Wendy S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Garrett
authors.affiliation: Centre for Integrative Biology, University of Trento, Trento, Italy.
authors.forename: Duy Tin
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Truong
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé/Centre Muraz, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.
authors.forename: Roch K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Dabiré
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé/Centre Muraz, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.
authors.forename: Abdoulaye
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Diabaté
authors.affiliation: UPR9022 CNRS, U963 Inserm, Université de Strasbourg, 15 rue R. Descartes, 67084 Strasbourg, France.|Vector Biology Unit, Max-Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Chariteplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Elena A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Levashina
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA.|Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Scienze Biochimiche, Università degli Studi di Perugia, 06100 Italy.
authors.forename: Flaminia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Catteruccia
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000382:microbiology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D002050:Burkina Faso; D005260:Female; D005836:Genitalia, Female / Q000382:microbiology; D005837:Genitalia, Male / Q000382:microbiology; D007303:Insect Vectors; D008297:Male; D064307:Microbiota; D010961:Plasmodium / Q000502:physiology; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D013149:Spiroplasma / Q000235:genetics; D013559:Symbiosis
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S