Identification of Spiroplasma insolitum symbionts in Anopheles gambiae

Wellcome Open Research

article

Sharon T. Chepkemoi¹  Enock Mararo²  Hellen Butungi²  Juan Paredes²  Daniel Masiga²  Steven P. Sinkins³  Jeremy K. Herren² 

[1] Centre for Biotechnology and Bioinformatics ,(CEBIB), University of Nairobi;International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology;MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research

关键词: symbiont;    malaria;    mosquito;    Anopheles;    Spiroplasma;    Plasmodium;    vector borne disease;   

DOI  :  10.12688/wellcomeopenres.12468.1

学科分类：内科医学

来源: Wellcome

【 摘 要 】

Background: Insect symbionts have the potential to block the transmission of vector-borne diseases by their hosts. The advancement of a symbiont-based transmission blocking strategy for malaria requires the identification and study ofAnopheles symbionts.Methods: High throughput 16S amplicon sequencing was used to profile the bacteria associated withAnopheles gambiae sensu lato and identify potential symbionts. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with specific primers were subsequently used to monitor symbiont prevalence in field populations, as well as symbiont transmission patterns.Results: We report the discovery of the bacterial symbiont,Spiroplasma, inAnopheles gambiae in Kenya. We determine that geographically dispersedAnopheles gambiae populations in Kenya are infected withSpiroplasma at low prevalence levels. Molecular phylogenetics indicates that thisAnopheles gambiae associatedSpiroplasma is a member of theinsolitum clade. We demonstrate that this symbiont is stably maternally transmitted across at least two generations and does not significantly affect the fecundity or egg to adult survival of its host.Conclusions: In diverse insect species,Spiroplasma has been found to render their host resistant to infection by pathogens. The identification of a maternally transmitted strain ofSpiroplasma inAnopheles gambiae may therefore open new lines of investigation for the development of symbiont-based strategies for blocking malaria transmission.

【 授权许可】

CC BY