Aedes albopictus mosquitoes face numerous anthropic stressors in urban areas. These xenobiotics not only impact mosquito physiology but also shape the composition of their microbiota, which play important roles in host physiological traits. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous environmental pollutants known to alter mosquito metabolism, but no studies have yet investigated their impact on microbiota.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAedes albopictus is a vector of arboviruses and filarial nematodes. Originating from Asia, this mosquito has rapidly expanded its geographical distribution and colonized areas across both temperate and tropical regions. Due to the increase in insecticide resistance, the use of environmentally friendly vector control methods is encouraged worldwide.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecent studies have highlighted the potential role of microbiota in the biology of the Aedes albopictus mosquito vector. This species is highly anthropogenic and exhibits marked ecological plasticity, with a resulting high potential to colonize a wide range of habitats-including anthropized areas-under various climatic conditions. We put forward the hypothesis that climate and anthropogenic activities, such as the use of antibiotics in agriculture and human medicine, might affect the mosquito-associated bacterial community.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus became of public health concern as it can replicate and transmit viral and filarial pathogens with a strong invasive success over the world. Various strategies have been proposed to reduce mosquito population's vectorial capacity. Among them, symbiotic control of mosquito borne disease offers promising perspectives.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Insect microbiota is a dynamic microbial community that can actively participate in defense against pathogens. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a natural entomopathogen widely used as a bioinsecticide for pest control. Although Bt's mode of action has been extensively studied, whether the presence of microbiota is mandatory for Bt to effectively kill the insect is still under debate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Aedes albopictus is a vector of arboviruses that cause severe diseases in humans such as Chikungunya, Dengue and Zika fevers. The vector competence of Ae. albopictus varies depending on the mosquito population involved and the virus transmitted.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus subgroup includes 11 cryptic species of which Ae. albopictus is the most widely distributed. Its global expansion associated with a documented vector competence for several emerging arboviruses raise obvious concerns in the recently colonized regions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Ticks are the most common arthropod vectors of both human and animal diseases in Europe, and the Ixodes ricinus tick species is able to transmit a large number of bacteria, viruses and parasites. Ticks may also be co-infected with several pathogens, with a subsequent high likelihood of co-transmission to humans or animals. However few data exist regarding co-infection prevalences, and these studies only focus on certain well-known pathogens.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWolbachia, a widespread endosymbiont of terrestrial arthropods, can protect its host against viral and parasitic infections, a phenotype called "pathogen blocking". However, in some cases Wolbachia may have no effect or even enhance pathogen infection, depending on the host-Wolbachia-pathogen combination. The tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus is naturally infected by two strains of Wolbachia, wAlbA and wAlbB, and is a competent vector for different arboviruses such as dengue virus (DENV) and chikungunya virus (CHIKV).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Asian tiger mosquito Aedes (Stegomya) albopictus is an invasive species that has spread across the world in the last two decades, showing a great capacity to adapt to contrasting climates and environments. While demonstrated in many insects, the contribution of bacterial symbionts in Aedes ecology is a challenging aspect that needs to be investigated. Also some bacterial species have already been identified in Ae.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The microbiota has been shown to play an important role in the biology of insects. In recent decades, significant efforts have been made to better understand the diversity of symbiotic bacteria associated with mosquitoes and assess their influence on pathogen transmission. Here, we report the bacterial composition found in field-caught Aedes albopictus populations by using culture-dependent methods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe presence of cultivable bacteria Acinetobacter and Asaia was recently demonstrated in the mosquito vector Aedes albopictus. However, it is not known how prevalent these bacteria are in field populations. Here, the presence of these bacteria in Ae.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough bacteria of the genus Wolbachia induced significant extended phenotypes to infected hosts, most molecular mechanisms involved are still unknown. To gain insight into the bacterial genetic determinants, we sequenced the whole genome of Wolbachia wAlbB strain, a commensal obligate intracellular of the tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus.
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