Bacterial diversity associated with the abdomens of naturally Plasmodium-infected and non-infected Nyssorhynchus darlingi.

backgroundThe bacterial community present in the abdomen in Anophelinae mosquitoes can influence mosquito susceptibility to Plasmodium infection. Little is known about the bacteria associated with Nyssorhynchus darlingi, a primary malaria vector in the Amazon basin. We investigated the abdominal bacterial community compositions of naturally Plasmodium-infected (P-positive, n = 9) and non-infected (P-negative, n = 7) Ny. darlingi from the Brazilian Amazon region through massive parallel sequencing of the bacterial V4 variable region of the 16S rRNA gene.

resultsBacterial richness of Ny. darlingi encompassed 379 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), the majority of them belonging to the Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Bacteroides phyla. Escherichia/Shigella and Pseudomonas were more abundant in the P-positive and P-negative groups, respectively, than in the opposite groups. Enterobacter was found only in the P-negative group. The results of statistical analyses conducted to compare bacterial abundance and diversity between Plasmodium-infected and Plasmodium-non-infected mosquitoes were not significant.

conclusionsThis study increased knowledge about bacterial composition in Ny. darlingi and revealed that Plasmodium-positive and Plasmodium-negative groups share a common core of bacteria. The genera Prevotella 9, Sphingomonas, Bacteroides, and Bacillus were reported for the first time in Ny. darlingi.