Bacteriophages: Tools for mosquito microbiome modulation

Mosquito microbiome plays a significant role in larval development, life span, vector competence and mating preference. Owing to the importance of microbiome in mosquito biology, it has the potential to be utilized as a target to modulate mosquito life history traits.

Bacteriophages provide a perfect tool for targeted removal of selective bacteria from a complex bacterial community. In this study we aimed to utilize bacteriophages to alter mosquito larval microbiome and study its effect on larval development and vector competence. Four bacteriophages capable of infecting prominent mosquito gut bacteria (Serratia, Enterobacter, Elizabethkingia and Pseudomonas) were isolated. We evaluated the efficacy of these bacteriophages to alter the mosquito larval development in a gnotobiotic environment. Our results show that the addition of bacteriophages to the larval breeding water can significantly alter the development of gnotobiotic Aedes aegypti and Anopheles gambiae larvae. The effect of this altered microbiota on mosquito life span, fecundity and vector competence is currently being studied. This study highlights the utility of bacteriophages in the mosquito microbiome research. Bacteriophages also have the potential to be developed into a novel technique to control mosquito borne diseases.