Role of the Gut Microbiome in Mosquito Development

描述（由申请人提供）：蚊子被公认为是致病病原体的最重要节肢动物载体。因此，对有可能破坏蚊子发育或疾病传播的过程进行研究具有生物医学重要性。该申请是一项重新提交的请求，以建立在最近的结果基础上，这些结果表明埃及伊蚊和其他蚊子物种的肠道微生物群对发展至关重要。人们早就知道肠道中有细菌，但这些微生物在蚊子生物学中的作用在很大程度上还不清楚。在这里，我们报告的初步数据表明，在埃及伊蚊的蚊子消化道的细菌群落是相对简单的，但也表现出明显的变化在发展过程中。我们的研究结果进一步表明，无菌（无菌）埃及伊蚊不能发展，而肠道的几个肠道社区成员和非社区成员大肠杆菌救援发展的肠化。与其他物种的比较数据产生了类似的结果，这强烈表明了一个基本的，但迄今为止尚未认识到的，大多数（如果不是所有的话）蚊子对其肠道微生物组的依赖性。最近的研究确定了细菌基因在发育拯救中的作用，以及细菌如何影响蚊子生理学的见解。为了进一步推进这些成果，我们提出了三个具体目标。1.在我们的实验室培养的Ae肠道微生物群的完整表征。埃及伊蚊，并选择其他物种，并在现场收集的蚊子进行平行实验。2.进一步表征E.大肠杆菌突变体的缺陷拯救蚊子的发展。3.分析细菌如何影响蚊子的生理机能。我们工作的预期成果将增进对蚊子肠道微生物组及其功能的了解。我们的研究将通过提供关于肠道微生物在蚊子发育中所起的基本未知但关键作用的信息来影响媒介生物学领域。我们的研究也将提供信息的潜在重要性，在操纵蚊子的发展作为一种战略，为病媒控制。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Mosquitoes are well recognized as the most important arthropod vectors of disease-causing pathogens. Thus, studies on processes with potential to disrupt mosquito development or disease transmission are of biomedical importance. This application is a resubmission request to build on recent results showing that the gut micro biota of Aedes aegypti and other mosquito species are essential for development. It has long been known that the gut harbors bacteria but the role these microbes play in mosquito biology is largely unclear. Here we report preliminary data showing that the community of bacteria in the digestive tract of the mosquito Aedes aegypti is relatively simple but also exhibits distinct changes during development. Our results further show that bacteria-free (axenic) Aedes aegypti cannot develop, while recolonization of the gut by several gut community members and the non-community member Escherichia coli rescue development. Comparative data with other species yield similar results, which strongly suggests a fundamental, but heretofore unrecognized, dependence by most if not all mosquitoes on their gut microbiome for development. Recent studies identify bacterial genes with roles in developmental rescue as well as insights into how bacteria affect mosquito physiology. To further advance these results, we propose three specific aims. 1. Complete characterization of the gut micro biota in our laboratory cultures of Ae. aegypti and select other species, and conduct parallel experiments in field collected mosquitoes. 2. Further characterize E. coli mutants defective in rescuing mosquito development. 3. Analyze how bacteria affect mosquito physiology. Expected outcomes of our work will enhance understanding of the mosquito gut microbiome and its functions. Our study will impact the field of vector biology by providing information on the largely unknown but critical role gut microbes play in mosquito development. Our study will also provide information of potential importance in manipulating mosquito development as a strategy for vector control.