title: Persistent Infection byWolbachia wAlbB Has No Effect on Composition of the Gut Microbiota in Adult FemaleAnopheles stephensi.
abstract: The bacteria in the midgut ofAnopheles stephensiadult females from laboratory colonies were studied by sequencing the V4 region of 16S rRNA genes, with respect to three experimental factors: stable or curedWolbachiainfection; sugar or blood diet; and age.ProteobacteriaandBacteroidetesdominated the community [>90% of operational taxonomic units (OTUs)]; most taxa were in the classesFlavobacteriia,Gammaproteobacteria, andAlphaproteobacteria, and were assigned toElizabethkingia(46.9%),Asaia(6.4%) andPseudomonas(6.0%), or unclassifiedEnterobacteriaceae(37.2%). Bacterial communities were similar betweenWolbachia-cured andWolbachia-infected mosquito lines, indicating that the gut microbiota were not dysregulated in the presence ofWolbachia. The proportion ofEnterobacteriaceaewas higher in mosquitoes fed a blood meal compared to those provided a sugar meal. Collectively, the bacterial community had a similar structure in olderWolbachia-infected mosquitoes 8 days after the blood meal, as in youngerWolbachia-infected mosquitoes before a blood meal, except that older mosquitoes had a higher proportion ofEnterobacteriaceaeand lower proportion ofElizabethkingia. Consistent presence of certain predominant bacteria (Elizabethkingia,Asaia,Pseudomonas, andEnterobacteriaceae) suggests they would be useful for paratransgenesis to control malaria infection, particularly when coupled to aWolbachia-based intervention strategy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI, USA.
authors.forename: Shicheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville AR, USA.
authors.forename: Jiangchao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI, USA.
authors.forename: Deepak
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Joshi
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI, USA.
authors.forename: Zhiyong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xi
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI, USA.
authors.forename: Beth
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Norman
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East LansingMI, USA; Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East LansingMI, USA.
authors.forename: Edward D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Walker
keywords: Anopheles; Wolbachia; malaria vectors; paratransgenesis