埃及伊蚊传播脊椎动物病原体的能力取决于多种因素,包括蚊子的生活史特征,免疫反应,和微生物群(即,与蚊子一生相关的微生物)。小孢子虫Edhazardiaaedis是一种专性细胞内寄生虫,可特异性感染Ae。埃及伊蚊,严重影响蚊子的生存和其他对病原体传播至关重要的生活史特征。在这项工作中,我们调查了Ae中E.aedis如何影响粘质沙雷氏菌的细菌感染。埃及伊蚊.我们衡量了发展,生存,以及蚊子幼虫和成虫阶段的细菌负荷。在幼虫中,E.aedis暴露是水平的或垂直的,并且口服引入粘质链球菌。不管传播途径如何,E.aedis暴露导致幼虫中明显较高的粘质S.E.aedis暴露也显着降低幼虫的存活率,但随后暴露于粘质链球菌没有影响。在成年女性中,E.aedis暴露仅是水平的,并且口服或通过胸腔内注射引入粘质沙菌。在这两种情况下,E.aedis感染显着增加了成年雌性蚊子中的粘质链球菌细菌负荷。此外,感染了E.aedis并随后注射了粘质链球菌的女性死亡率为100%,这与细菌负荷的迅速增加相对应。这些发现表明,暴露于E.aedis可以影响蚊子中其他微生物的建立和/或复制。这对于理解蚊子免疫防御的生态学和蚊子媒介物种潜在的疾病传播具有意义。重要的是,小孢子虫Edhazardiaaedis是黄热病蚊子的寄生虫,埃及伊蚊.这种蚊子在美国和世界各地向人类传播多种病毒,包括登革热,黄热病,和寨卡病毒。全世界每年将有数亿人感染这些病毒之一。E.aedis感染显着降低了Ae的寿命。埃及伊蚊,因此是一种有前途的新型生物防治剂。这里,我们发现当蚊子被这种寄生虫感染时,它也更容易受到机会性细菌病原体的感染,粘质沙雷菌.这一新发现表明,蚊子控制其他微生物感染的能力受到寄生虫存在的影响。
The ability of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to transmit vertebrate pathogens depends on multiple factors, including the mosquitoes\' life history traits, immune response, and microbiota (i.e., the microbes associated with the mosquito throughout its life). The microsporidium Edhazardia aedis is an obligate intracellular parasite that specifically infects Ae. aegypti mosquitoes and severely affects mosquito survival and other life history traits critical for pathogen transmission. In this work, we investigated how E. aedis impacts bacterial infection with Serratia marcescens in Ae. aegypti mosquitoes. We measured development, survival, and bacterial load in both larval and adult stages of mosquitoes. In larvae, E. aedis exposure was either horizontal or vertical and S. marcescens was introduced orally. Regardless of the route of transmission, E. aedis exposure resulted in significantly higher S. marcescens loads in larvae. E. aedis exposure also significantly reduced larval survival but subsequent exposure to S. marcescens had no effect. In adult females, E. aedis exposure was only horizontal and S. marcescens was introduced orally or via intrathoracic injection. In both cases, E. aedis infection significantly increased S. marcescens bacterial loads in adult female mosquitoes. In addition, females infected with E. aedis and subsequently injected with S. marcescens suffered 100% mortality which corresponded with a rapid increase in bacterial load. These findings suggest that exposure to E. aedis can influence the establishment and/or replication of other microbes in the mosquito. This has implications for understanding the ecology of mosquito immune defense and potentially disease transmission by mosquito vector species.
OBJECTIVE: The microsporidium Edhazardia aedis is a parasite of the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti. This mosquito transmits multiple viruses to humans in the United States and around the world, including dengue, yellow fever, and Zika viruses. Hundreds of millions of people worldwide will become infected with one of these viruses each year. E. aedis infection significantly reduces the lifespan of Ae. aegypti and is therefore a promising novel biocontrol agent. Here, we show that when the mosquito is infected with this parasite, it is also significantly more susceptible to infection by an opportunistic bacterial pathogen, Serratia marcescens. This novel discovery suggests the mosquito\'s ability to control infection by other microbes is impacted by the presence of the parasite.