Use of MALDI-TOF MS and culturomics to identify mosquitoes and their midgut microbiota.
Mosquitoes transmit a wide range of human parasitic and viral diseases. In recent years, new techniques such as MALDI-TOF MS have been developed to identify mosquitoes at the species level, which is key for entomological surveys. Additionally, there is increasing interest in the mosquito microbiota and its role in vector capacity.



The culturomics approach previously used in our laboratory to study human gut microbiota was applied to evaluate the midgut bacterial diversity of Anopheles gambiae (wild and laboratory strains), Aedes albopictus (wild and laboratory strains) and Culex quinquefasciatus (wild strains) in order to determine the influence of the environmental status on the midgut microbiota of the mosquitoes.



Mosquitoes collected in the field were accurately identified by MALDI-TOF MS analysis of their legs. Adult mosquito midgut microbiota was composed of four phyla, including Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria and Firmicutes. The majority of the bacteria detected in the microbiota of mosquitoes were gram-negative and belong to the phylum Proteobacteria. MALDI-TOF MS identified for the first time a new bacterial species from An. gambiae midgut microbiota.



In this study, the culturomics approach was found to be a reliable technique for exploring the diversity of the mosquito microbiota. MALDI-TOF MS was confirmed as a promising technique to identify mosquitoes collected in the field. Culturomics allowed the isolation of a new bacterial species not previously associated with mosquito vectors. The environment plays a role in the bacterial diversity of the microbiota, which could enable the development of new control strategies for mosquito-borne disease.
Unité de Recherche en Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198 (Dakar, Sénégal), Inserm 1095, Faculté de Médecine, Aix Marseille Université, 27 bd Jean Moulin, 13385, Marseille cedex 5, France.|Department of Epidemiology of Parasitic Diseases, Malaria Research and Training Center, University of Science, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako, Bamako, Mali.
Fatalmoudou
F
Tandina
Unité de Recherche en Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198 (Dakar, Sénégal), Inserm 1095, Faculté de Médecine, Aix Marseille Université, 27 bd Jean Moulin, 13385, Marseille cedex 5, France.|Département d'Infectiologie de Terrain, Unité de Parasitologie, Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées, Marseille, France.
Lionel
L
Almeras
Department of Epidemiology of Parasitic Diseases, Malaria Research and Training Center, University of Science, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako, Bamako, Mali.
Abdoulaye K
AK
Koné
Department of Epidemiology of Parasitic Diseases, Malaria Research and Training Center, University of Science, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako, Bamako, Mali.
Ogobara K
OK
Doumbo
Unité de Recherche en Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198 (Dakar, Sénégal), Inserm 1095, Faculté de Médecine, Aix Marseille Université, 27 bd Jean Moulin, 13385, Marseille cedex 5, France.
Didier
D
Raoult
Unité de Recherche en Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198 (Dakar, Sénégal), Inserm 1095, Faculté de Médecine, Aix Marseille Université, 27 bd Jean Moulin, 13385, Marseille cedex 5, France. philippe.parola@univ-amu.fr.
Philippe
P
Parola
D000818:Animals; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D009033:Culicidae / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D005121:Extremities; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization
D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
Aedes albopictus; Anopheles gambiae Giles; Culex quinquefasciatus; Culturomics; MALDI-TOF MS; Microbiota