Manipulating the Mosquito Microbiota to Study Its Function

Ottavia Romoli (1) , Mathilde Gendrin (1, 2)

1 Microbiote des insectes vecteurs / Microbiota of Insect Vectors [Cayenne, Guyane française]
2 Département Parasites et Insectes vecteurs - Department of Parasites and Insect Vectors

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are the main vectors of several arboviruses and are commonly used as models in mosquito biology and vector competence studies. The mosquito microbiota has an impact on different aspects of host physiology, including development, immunity, and fecundity, in turn influencing the capability of the mosquito to transmit diseases. The composition of the microbiota is relatively simple in field mosquitoes, and many of its bacterial members are culturable in the laboratory. Being able to manipulate the composition of the mosquito microbiota is essential to effectively investigate its effect on host physiology and vector competence. This protocol describes how to obtain gnotobiotic mosquitoes, i.e., mosquitoes with a known microbiota composition, and how to monitor the effect of a manipulated microbiota on mosquito development.

Keywords: Mosquito; Microbiota; Aedes aegypti; Development; Gnotobiology; Wing length

Domains: Biotechnology; Invertebrate Zoology

Ottavia Romoli, Mathilde Gendrin. Manipulating the Mosquito Microbiota to Study Its Function. Immunity in Insects, Springer Nature, pp.179-189, 2020, ⟨10.1007/978-1-0716-0259-1_11⟩. ⟨pasteur-02919231v2⟩