MICROBIAL COMPETITION IN MOSQUITO: POSSIBLE APPLICATION IN MONITORING AND CONTROL

Wolbachia is an obligate intracellular bacterium naturally found in 60% of all arthropod’s species. There are discrepancies in Wolbachia detection, with some studies revealing it in 14% of species while others report negative results, indicating regional variability in infection rates and potential limitations in detection methods. Wolbachia can influence host fitness and vector competence thus a series of application has been developed to decline viral transmission within mosquito host. Recently we have identified Wolbachia in the sylvatic African vector Aedes africanus, a mosquito vector widely distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa, except Madagascar, where it acts as one of the major vectors of yellow fever arboviruses. We have characterised Wolbachia of Ae. africanus and its relationships with members of the mosquito microbiota, highlighting competition dynamics between Wolbachia and Pantoea.Wolbachia was found in nearly all the specimens of Ae. africanus examined, displaying varying quantities. The phylogenetic analysis via multi-locus sequence typing revealed that this Wolbachia strain belonged to Supergroup B yet exhibited closer resemblance to Wolbachia strains observed in Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera rather than mosquitoes. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis revealed Wolbachia localization in both male and female reproductive organs. Moreover, microbiota analysis suggested a potential competition among highlighting competition dynamics between Wolbachia and Pantoea.Whole genome sequencing of the two bacteria is ongoing to better define the dynamics of this competition.