Prevalence, genomic and metabolic profiles of Acinetobacter and Asaia associated with field‐caught Aedes albopictus from Madagascar. Issue 1 (9th August 2012)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Minard, Guillaume; Tran, Florence Hélène; Raharimalala, Fara Nantenaina; Hellard, Eléonore; Ravelonandro, Pierre; Mavingui, Patrick; Valiente Moro, Claire
• Is Part Of: FEMS microbiology ecology. Volume 83:Issue 1(2013)
• Page Start: 63
• Page End: 73
• Publication Date: 2012-08-09
• Subjects: Microbial ecology -- Periodicals; Microbiology -- Periodicals; 579.17
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6941.2012.01455.x
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0168-6496

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="fem1455-abs-0001"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>The presence of cultivable bacteria <italic>Acinetobacter</italic> and <italic>Asaia</italic> was recently demonstrated in the mosquito vector <italic>Aedes albopictus</italic>. However, it is not known how prevalent these bacteria are in field populations. Here, the presence of these bacteria in <italic>Ae. albopictus</italic> populations from Madagascar was diagnosed by amplification of 16S rRNA gene fragments. Both genera were detected at relatively high frequencies, 46% for <italic>Asaia</italic> and 74% for <italic>Acinetobacter</italic>. The prevalence of <italic>Acinetobacter</italic> correlated significantly with mosquito gender, and the prevalence of <italic>Asaia</italic> with the interaction between mosquito gender and the sampling site. For each bacterial genus, more male than female mosquitoes were infected. Using pulse field gel electrophoresis, no significant difference in genome size was found between <italic>Acinetobacter</italic> isolates from mosquitoes compared with free‐living <italic>Acinetobacter</italic>. However, a great diversity was observed in plasmid numbers (from 1 to 12) and sizes (from < 8 to 690 kb). Mosquito isolates utilized fewer substrates than free‐living isolates, but some substrates known as blood or plant components were specifically utilized by mosquito isolates. Therefore it is likely that a specific subpopulation of <italic>Acinetobacter</italic> is selected by <italic>Ae. albopictus</italic>. Overall, this study emphasizes the need to gain a global view on the bacterial partners in mosquito vectors.</p> </abstract>