1. Bacteria of the genus Asaia stably associate with Anopheles stephensi, an Asian malarial mosquito vector
- Author
-
Irene Ricci, Massimo Marzorati, Fulvio Esposito, Alberto Alma, Luciano Pasqualini, Daniele Daffonchio, Diego Mora, Lorenzo Brusetti, Ilaria Negri, Elena Crotti, Patrizia Scuppa, Luciano Sacchi, Sara Borin, E. Clementi, Noura Raddadi, Marco Genchi, Giulio Grandi, Aurora Rizzi, Claudia Damiani, Claudio Bandi, Laura D. Kramer, Guido Favia, S. Corona, Roberta Urso, G. Favia, I. Ricci, C. Damiani, N. Raddadi, E. Crotti, M. Marzorati, A. Rizzi, R. Urso, L. Brusetti, S. Borin, D. Mora, P. Scuppa, L. Pasqualini, E. Clementi, M. Genchi, S. Corona, I. Negri, G. Grandi, A. Alma, L. Kramer, F. Esposito, C. Bandi, L. Sacchi, and D. Daffonchio
- Subjects
Male ,Asia ,Time Factors ,Plasmodium vivax ,Molecular Sequence Data ,Paratransgenesis ,Plasmodium ,Polymerase Chain Reaction ,Microscopy, Electron, Transmission ,Genes, Reporter ,RNA, Ribosomal, 16S ,parasitic diseases ,Malaria, Vivax ,Animals ,Anopheles stephensi ,Gene Library ,Multidisciplinary ,biology ,Bacteria ,fungi ,insect vector, anopheles ,Anopheles ,Biological Sciences ,16S ribosomal RNA ,biology.organism_classification ,Virology ,Insect Vectors ,Settore AGR/11 - ENTOMOLOGIA GENERALE E APPLICATA ,Vector (epidemiology) ,insect vector ,anopheles - Abstract
Here, we show that an α-proteobacterium of the genus Asaia is stably associated with larvae and adults of Anopheles stephensi , an important mosquito vector of Plasmodium vivax , a main malaria agent in Asia. Asaia bacteria dominate mosquito-associated microbiota, as shown by 16S rRNA gene abundance, quantitative PCR, transmission electron microscopy and in situ -hybridization of 16S rRNA genes. In adult mosquitoes, Asaia sp. is present in high population density in the female gut and in the male reproductive tract. Asaia sp. from An. stephensi has been cultured in cell-free media and then transformed with foreign DNA. A green fluorescent protein-tagged Asaia sp. strain effectively lodged in the female gut and salivary glands, sites that are crucial for Plasmodium sp. development and transmission. The larval gut and the male reproductive system were also colonized by the transformed Asaia sp. strain. As an efficient inducible colonizer of mosquitoes that transmit Plasmodium sp., Asaia sp. may be a candidate for malaria control.
- Published
- 2007