Analysis of Mosquito Gut Microbial DNA Within Lab-Grown Aedes albopictus
Abstract (300 words maximum)
This study aimed to document the midgut microbial communities of a common mosquito species, Aedes albopictus. Some microbes in the guts of mosquitoes have been found to act in a way that influences mosquito biting behavior, and fitness, and can affect how they acquire and transmit pathogens and viruses to their hosts. Among different rearing conditions, different microbial communities have been found residing within the gastrointestinal environment. Considering the microbiota in laboratory-raised mosquitoes so it can be compared to wild mosquitoes is important when future experiments attempt to apply the data found in a laboratory to wild populations. This study looks into Ae. albopictus, raised in one of Kennesaw State University’s laboratories, reared from fourth-generation eggs and fed a larval slurry mix of brewer’s yeast and liver powder. As adults, they only had a sucrose and DI water solution to drink. All sampled specimens were females that had never been blood-fed. Individual mosquitoes were collected from the laboratory colony whose midguts were dissected out into a sterile solution. They had their DNA processed using 16S Gene Sequencing of the v3 and v4 region. We analyzed similarities and differences in midgut microbial communities within the Ae. albopictus species.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
CSM - Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Thomas McElroy
Additional Faculty
Andrew Haddow, Molecular and Cellular Biology, ahaddow@kennesaw.edu
Analysis of Mosquito Gut Microbial DNA Within Lab-Grown Aedes albopictus
This study aimed to document the midgut microbial communities of a common mosquito species, Aedes albopictus. Some microbes in the guts of mosquitoes have been found to act in a way that influences mosquito biting behavior, and fitness, and can affect how they acquire and transmit pathogens and viruses to their hosts. Among different rearing conditions, different microbial communities have been found residing within the gastrointestinal environment. Considering the microbiota in laboratory-raised mosquitoes so it can be compared to wild mosquitoes is important when future experiments attempt to apply the data found in a laboratory to wild populations. This study looks into Ae. albopictus, raised in one of Kennesaw State University’s laboratories, reared from fourth-generation eggs and fed a larval slurry mix of brewer’s yeast and liver powder. As adults, they only had a sucrose and DI water solution to drink. All sampled specimens were females that had never been blood-fed. Individual mosquitoes were collected from the laboratory colony whose midguts were dissected out into a sterile solution. They had their DNA processed using 16S Gene Sequencing of the v3 and v4 region. We analyzed similarities and differences in midgut microbial communities within the Ae. albopictus species.