Metagenomic exploration of the bacteriome reveals naturalWolbachiainfections in yellow fever mosquitoAedes aegyptiand Asian tiger mosquitoAedes albopictus
Abstract
Background
Dengue and associated complications are spreading to non-endemic regions of Pakistan. Vector control, the foremost and widely adopted strategy for managing dengue has been implemented through various measures in Pakistan. Biological control through the use ofWolbachia, a bacterium naturally present in various insect genera, includingAedes, has demonstrated promising results globally. In this study we collectedAedesspecies and investigated their microbiomes with a particular focus on identifying the endosymbiontWolbachia.
Methods
Mosquitoes were collected via Gravitraps in the Peshawar region of northwest Pakistan. The identity of the mosquitoes was initially confirmed through morphological characters followed by molecular identification using species-specific Cytochrome oxidase I (COI) primers. The DNA from femaleAe. aegyptiandAe. albopictuswas further subjected to 16S rRNA sequencing. The hypervariable regions V3/V4 of 16S rRNA were used for sequencing using the paired-end Illumina MiSeq platform.
Results
The phylogenetic analysis of the COI gene in our samples demonstrated similarity toAedesspecies previously documented in Pakistan. In comparative analysis of their microbiomes,Ae. albopictuswas found to harbor 921 bacterial species, whileAe. aegyptionly had 239 species. The metagenomic analysis revealedWolbachia pipientisinfection inAe. aegyptiwhile co-infection ofWolbachia pipientisandWolbachia bourtzisiiwas detected inAe. albopictusmicrobiota.
Conclusion
BothAe. aegyptiandAe. albopictusare present in Peshawar region of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province of Pakistan. Comparative analysis of the bacteriome showed higher bacterial diversity forAe. albopictusas compared toAe. aegypti.The investigation revealedWolbachiainfection in bothAedesmosquitoes species.
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