Gut microbiota of Aedes aegypti shift in response to host blood meal source

Bacterial communities that colonize the guts of disease vectors such as mosquitoes are considered potential tools for mosquito-borne disease control. These microbes vary markedly within and between mosquito species but the factors responsible for these variations are poorly understood. We used MiSeq sequencing of the 16S rDNA gene to investigate the impact of host blood meal source on the gut microbiota of the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti. Adult mosquitoes were fed on human, rabbit or chicken blood and their gut microbiota compared to those of sugar-fed and newly emerged adults. Microbial diversity was significantly reduced in blood-fed and sugar-fed mosquitoes but was restored to the levels of newly emerged adults’ 7-days post blood meal. Microbial composition was strongly influenced by host blood meal source. Leucobacter spp., Chryseobacterium spp., Elizabethkingia spp. and Serratia spp. were characteristic of newly emerged adults and adults fed on chicken, rabbit, and human blood respectively. Sugar-fed mosquitoes had higher abundance of Pseudomonas spp. and unclassified Acetobacteraceae. Shifts in gut microbial communities in response to host blood meal source may fundamentally impact pathogen transmission and vector susceptibility to a variety of mosquito-borne pathogens and may be a key determinant of individual and population variation in vector competence.