Files
Abstract
Mosquitoes are well recognized as the most important arthropod vectors of pathogensthat cause disease in humans and other vertebrates. A long-term research goal of highpriority in the biomedical health sciences therefore is to identify novel strategies formosquito control. The most significant finding of my doctoral studies is that the gutmicrobiota of Aedes aegypti (the yellow fever mosquito) and other mosquito species areessential for development. The mosquito gut harbors a low diversity microbialcommunity comprised primarily of aerobic bacteria. However, the role these bacteriaplay in mosquito biology is largely unknown. My results demonstrate that the gutmicrobiota of laboratory-reared Ae. aegypti assemble into distinct communitiesthroughout development. My results further show that axenic (bacteria-free) Ae. aegyptilarvae fail to develop beyond the first instar. However, recolonization of the gut byseveral gut community members and the non-community member Escherichia colirescues development of axenic larvae into adults. Comparative studies in other mosquitospecies from both the laboratory and field suggest a fundamental, but previouslyunrecognized, dependence by most if not all mosquitoes on their gut microbiota fordevelopment. Recent studies have taken advantage of E. coli as a model bacterium toidentify the mechanisms underlying the function of gut bacteria in mosquitodevelopment and their impact on mosquito physiology. Results from a genome-widefunctional screen in E. coli reveal roles for bacteria in regulating the endocrine andnutritional events leading to molting. Preliminary studies on the contribution of specificgut community members to mosquito reproduction further support a role for gutmicrobiota in nutrient acquisition and egg production by certain species. Together, thesestudies provide information on the critical roles gut microbes play in mosquito biology.They also provide crucial information for manipulating mosquito development as astrategy for vector control.