Abstract
Phlebotomine sandflies are vectors of the humans’ and mammals’ parasite Leishmania spp. Although the role of gut microbiome in the biological cycle of insects is acknowledged, we still know little about the factors modulating the composition of the gut microbiota of sandflies. We tested whether host species impose a strong structural effect on the gut microbiota of Phlebotomus spp. Sandflies were collected from the island of Leros, Greece, and classified to P. papatasi, P. neglectus, P. tobbi, and P. similis, all being negative to Leishmania spp. The prokaryotic gut microbiota was determined via 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Phlebotomus species supported distinct microbial communities (p < 0.001). P. papatasi microbiota was the most distinct over-dominated by three Spiroplasma, Wolbachia and Paenibacillus operational taxonomic units (OTUs), while another Wolbachia OTU prevailed in P. neglectus. Conversely, the microbiota of P. tobbi and P. similis was composed of several less dominant OTUs. Archaea showed low presence with the dominant OTUs belonging to methanogenic Euryarcheota, ammonia-oxidizing Thaumarcheota, and Nanoarchaeota. We provide first insights into the composition of the bacterial and archaeal community of Phlebotomus sandflies and showed that, in the absence of Leishmania, host genotype is the major modulator of Phlebotomus sandfly gut microbiota.
Highlights
Phlebotomine sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae, Phlebotominae) are insects of global health importance
In total 1235 sandflies belonging to 10 different species were collected from the island of Leros, Collected sandflies were assigned to the following species in descending prevalence: P. papatasi
In this study we determined the composition of the gut prokaryotic microbiota of Phlebotomus species and explored the role of host phylogeny in structuring the gut bacterial and archaeal community
Summary
Phlebotomine sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae, Phlebotominae) are insects of global health importance. This is based on their versatility as vectors of human pathogens including viruses (Phleboviruses) [1,2], bacteria (Bartonella bacilliformis) [3] and protozoa like Leishmania spp. In Europe and mainly in the Mediterranean region, sandflies of the genus Phlebotomus have been incriminated as vectors of Leishmania [5] transmitted by the bite of an infected female sandfly [6]. In Greece, monitoring surveys identified P. neglectus (32.8% of the population captured in the study), P. similis (30.3%), P. tobbi (16.7%), and P. perfiliewi (15.9%) in Ionian islands, whereas P. simici (50%), P. neglectus (24.5%), and P. tobbi (9.6%)
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