The variable fungal microbiome supports development of mosquiteos but is inhibitied by the bacterial microbiota
The mosquito microbiome is an important modulator of vector competence and vectoral capacity. Unlike the extensively studied bacterial microbiome, fungal communities in mosquito microbiome remain largely unexplored. To work towards getting an improved understanding of the fungi associated with mosquitoes microbiome, we sequenced the fungal microbiome of three field-collected and laboratory-reared mosquito species. Our analysis showed both environment and host species were contributing to the diversity of the fungal microbiome of mosquitoes. When comparing species, Ae. albopictus possessed a higher number of diverse fungal taxa than Cx. quinquefasciatus, while strikingly less than 1% of reads from Ae. aegypti samples were fungal. Fungal reads from Ae. aegypti were <1% even after inhibiting host amplification using a PNA blocker, indicating that this species lacked a significant fungal microbiome. Using a mono-association mosquito infection model, we confirmed that mosquito-derived fungal isolates colonize and support mosquito growth at comparable rates to their bacterial counterparts. Strikingly, native bacterial taxa isolated from mosquitoes impeded the colonization of symbiotic fungi in Ae. aegypti suggesting interkingdom interactions shape fungal microbiome communities. Collectively, this study adds to our understanding of the fungal microbiome of different mosquito species, that these fungal microbes support growth and development, and highlights that microbial interactions underpin fungal colonization of these medically relavent species.