Microbiota composition of Culex perexiguus mosquitoes during the West Nile virus outbreak in southern Spain.

West Nile virus (WNV) is a flavivirus naturally circulating between mosquito vectors and birds, occasionally infecting horses and humans and causing epidemiologically relevant outbreaks. In Spain, the first big WNV outbreak was recorded in 2020, resulting in 77 people infected and 8 fatalities, most...

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Main Authors: Marta Garrigós, Mario Garrido, María José Ruiz-López, María José García-López, Jesús Veiga, Sergio Magallanes, Ramón Soriguer, Isabel Moreno-Indias, Jordi Figuerola, Josué Martínez-de la Puente
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2024-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0314001
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author Marta Garrigós
Mario Garrido
María José Ruiz-López
María José García-López
Jesús Veiga
Sergio Magallanes
Ramón Soriguer
Isabel Moreno-Indias
Jordi Figuerola
Josué Martínez-de la Puente
author_facet Marta Garrigós
Mario Garrido
María José Ruiz-López
María José García-López
Jesús Veiga
Sergio Magallanes
Ramón Soriguer
Isabel Moreno-Indias
Jordi Figuerola
Josué Martínez-de la Puente
author_sort Marta Garrigós
collection DOAJ
description West Nile virus (WNV) is a flavivirus naturally circulating between mosquito vectors and birds, occasionally infecting horses and humans and causing epidemiologically relevant outbreaks. In Spain, the first big WNV outbreak was recorded in 2020, resulting in 77 people infected and 8 fatalities, most of them in southern Spain. Culex perexiguus was identified as the primary vector of WNV maintaining its enzootic circulation of the virus. Growing evidence highlights the role of mosquito microbiota as a key component determining the vectorial capacity of mosquitoes, largely contributing to disease epidemiology. Here, we develop, to our knowledge, the first identification of the microbiota composition of this mosquito vector under natural conditions and test for the potential relationship between mosquito microbiota composition and WNV infection. To do so, we collected mosquitoes in a natural area of southern Spain during the 2020 WNV outbreak and identified the microbiota composition of mosquitoes using a 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding approach. The microbiota of Cx. perexiguus was dominated by the phylum Proteobacteria. The most abundant families were Burkholderiaceae and Erwiniaceae, including the genera Burkholderia, Erwinia, and Pantoea. The genus Wolbachia, which use to dominate the microbiota of Cx. pipiens and negatively interact with WNV according to the literature, had a low prevalence and relative abundance in Cx. perexiguus and its abundance did not differ between WNV-positive and WNV-negative mosquito pools. The microbiota diversity and composition of Cx. perexiguus were not significantly related to the WNV infection status. These results provide the first identification of the mosquito microbiota in an endemic area of WNV circulation in Spain.
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spelling doaj-art-16fe7df6d265466181b74da7c647053b2024-11-21T05:30:57ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032024-01-011911e031400110.1371/journal.pone.0314001Microbiota composition of Culex perexiguus mosquitoes during the West Nile virus outbreak in southern Spain.Marta GarrigósMario GarridoMaría José Ruiz-LópezMaría José García-LópezJesús VeigaSergio MagallanesRamón SoriguerIsabel Moreno-IndiasJordi FiguerolaJosué Martínez-de la PuenteWest Nile virus (WNV) is a flavivirus naturally circulating between mosquito vectors and birds, occasionally infecting horses and humans and causing epidemiologically relevant outbreaks. In Spain, the first big WNV outbreak was recorded in 2020, resulting in 77 people infected and 8 fatalities, most of them in southern Spain. Culex perexiguus was identified as the primary vector of WNV maintaining its enzootic circulation of the virus. Growing evidence highlights the role of mosquito microbiota as a key component determining the vectorial capacity of mosquitoes, largely contributing to disease epidemiology. Here, we develop, to our knowledge, the first identification of the microbiota composition of this mosquito vector under natural conditions and test for the potential relationship between mosquito microbiota composition and WNV infection. To do so, we collected mosquitoes in a natural area of southern Spain during the 2020 WNV outbreak and identified the microbiota composition of mosquitoes using a 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding approach. The microbiota of Cx. perexiguus was dominated by the phylum Proteobacteria. The most abundant families were Burkholderiaceae and Erwiniaceae, including the genera Burkholderia, Erwinia, and Pantoea. The genus Wolbachia, which use to dominate the microbiota of Cx. pipiens and negatively interact with WNV according to the literature, had a low prevalence and relative abundance in Cx. perexiguus and its abundance did not differ between WNV-positive and WNV-negative mosquito pools. The microbiota diversity and composition of Cx. perexiguus were not significantly related to the WNV infection status. These results provide the first identification of the mosquito microbiota in an endemic area of WNV circulation in Spain.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0314001
spellingShingle Marta Garrigós
Mario Garrido
María José Ruiz-López
María José García-López
Jesús Veiga
Sergio Magallanes
Ramón Soriguer
Isabel Moreno-Indias
Jordi Figuerola
Josué Martínez-de la Puente
Microbiota composition of Culex perexiguus mosquitoes during the West Nile virus outbreak in southern Spain.
PLoS ONE
title Microbiota composition of Culex perexiguus mosquitoes during the West Nile virus outbreak in southern Spain.
title_full Microbiota composition of Culex perexiguus mosquitoes during the West Nile virus outbreak in southern Spain.
title_fullStr Microbiota composition of Culex perexiguus mosquitoes during the West Nile virus outbreak in southern Spain.
title_full_unstemmed Microbiota composition of Culex perexiguus mosquitoes during the West Nile virus outbreak in southern Spain.
title_short Microbiota composition of Culex perexiguus mosquitoes during the West Nile virus outbreak in southern Spain.
title_sort microbiota composition of culex perexiguus mosquitoes during the west nile virus outbreak in southern spain
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0314001
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