Culex quinquefasciatus larval microbiomes vary with instar and exposure to common wastewater contaminants.

Marcus J Pennington,Sean M Prager,William E Walton,John T Trumble

doi:10.1038/srep21969

Marcus J Pennington, Sean M Prager + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/srep21969

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Journal: Scientific Reports	Publication Date: Feb 1, 2016
Citations: 27	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of California, Riverside

Abstract

Like many insects, mosquitoes, rely on endosymbionts to grow and develop. These can be acquired from the environment. We used next generation 454 pyrosequencing to discern the whole-body microbiome of the mosquito species Culex quinquefasciatus in various larval stadia and following exposure to common pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) found in wastewater. PPCP treatments included environmentally-relevant concentrations; 1) a combination of common antibiotics, 2) a combination of mammalian hormones, 3) a mixture of the antibiotic and hormone treatments plus acetaminophen and caffeine and, 4) an untreated control. Within control groups, the predominant families of bacterial symbionts change with each larval instar despite consistent diets and rearing conditions. This trend was also seen in hormone treatments but not in the antibiotic or the mixture treatments. Richness and evenness were reduced in both antibiotic and mixture treatments, suggesting that antibiotics remove certain bacteria or inhibit them from increasing to proportions seen in the control treatment. Interestingly, the mixture treatments had greater richness and evenness compared to antibiotic alone treatments, possibly due to the other contaminants facilitating growth of different bacteria. These findings illuminate the complexity of the microbiome of C. quinquefasciatus and may have implications for more effective control strategies.

Highlights

Percentage Fourth Instar to outside diseases and increase incidents of colony collapse[15]
We describe the differences in the bacterial communities of the mosquito C. quinquefasciatus in multiple distinct larval stages, as well as when these mosquitoes are reared in environments contaminated with ecologically relevant concentrations of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) that commonly occur in combinations in order to provide a baseline for more in-depth studies
We have demonstrated that the microbiome of larval Culex mosquitoes changes throughout development, and variation between instars is affected when exposed to various PPCPs

Summary

Introduction

Percentage Fourth Instar to outside diseases and increase incidents of colony collapse[15]. If the environment is altered, and some of these necessary bacteria are reduced/eliminated, there could be detrimental effects on the development of mosquito larvae. Chemicals intended for human use often occur in aquatic environments and/or enter water supplies through water treatment plant overflow or from use of reclaimed water in water scarce areas[21,22,23,24,25,26] These chemicals can affect bacterial communities in the water and the associated aquatic insect community. We describe the differences in the bacterial communities of the mosquito C. quinquefasciatus in multiple distinct larval stages, as well as when these mosquitoes are reared in environments contaminated with ecologically relevant concentrations of PPCPs that commonly occur in combinations in order to provide a baseline for more in-depth studies

Methods

Results

Conclusion