Metagenomic analysis of Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes from Grenada, West Indies

The mosquitoes Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus, 1762) (Diptera: Culicidae) and Culex quinquefasciatus Say, 1823 (Diptera: Culicidae) are two major vectors of arthropod-borne pathogens in Grenada, West Indies. Currently, there are few studies on the metagenome of these mosquitoes, particularly in the Americas. To this end, mosquitoes were collected several times each week in 2018 using BG-Sentinel traps from six semi-rural locations near houses in St. George Parish, Grenada. From these, 300 A. aegypti and 300 C. quinquefasciatus were selected for analysis. Deep sequence was conducted using the Illumina HiSeq 1500. After filtering out low-quality reads and mosquito and human-derived sequences, the remaining sequences were compared to the several databases of viral, bacterial, fungal, and protozoan gene sequences. Metavirome analyses showed that A. aegypti in Grenada contain RNA from Phasi Charoen-like virus (genus: Phasivirus). For the first time, the presence of Grenada mosquito rhabdovirus 1 is reported in C. quinquefasciatus; other reads identified in C. quinquefasciatus include Culex flavivirus, Circovirus, and trypanosome-derived reads. Results showed that bacteria genera including Asaia, Escherichia, Pantoea, Pseudomonas, and Serratia are common in both mosquito species; these genera have previously been shown to be good candidates for transgenetic studies.