Mosquito host background influences microbiome-ZIKV interactions in field and laboratory-reared

The mosquito microbiota represents an intricate assemblage of microorganisms, comprising bacteria, fungi, viruses, and protozoa. Factors modulating microbiome abundance and composition include host genetic background, environmental parameters, and pathogen exposure. Conversely, the microbiome profoundly influences pathogen infection of the mosquito host and thus harbours considerable potential to impact the transmission of vector-borne diseases. As such, there is a growing interest in using the microbiome in novel vector-control strategies, including exploiting the natural ability of some microbes to interfere with infection of the vectors by pathogens. However, before novel microbiome-based vector control approaches can move towards translation, a more complete understanding of the interactions between mosquitoes, their microbiome, and the pathogens they transmit, is required to better appreciate how variation in the microbiome of field mosquitoes affects these interactions. To examine the impact of the host background and the associated diversity of microbiomes within distinct hosts, but without artificially manipulating the microbiome, we exposed several laboratory-reared and field-collected