Studies on cultured and uncultured microbiota of wild Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito midgut based on 16S ribosomal RNA gene analysis

Abstract. To describe the midgut microbial diversity and the candidate bacteria for the genetic manipulation for the generation of transgenic mosquitoes refractory to transmission of diseases, the microbiota of wild Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito midgut was studied using a conventional culture technique and analysis of a 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequence library. The culturable microbiota was identified as Acinetobacter junii, Ac. calcoaceticus, Aeromonas culici-cola, Bacillus thuringiensis, Microbacterium oxydans, Pantoea agglomerans, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Stenotrophomonas maltophila and an unidentified bacterium from the host Drosophila paulistorium. The 16S rRNA gene library was composed of 46 % unidentified and uncultured bacteria, 41 % Acinetobacter spp., and 13% Lactococcus spp. The coverage calculated for the 150 clones was 83.3%. Thus, the probability of the next cloned sequence falling in a novel operational taxonomic unit (not yet observed) was 16.7%. The majority of the cultured isolates and the 16S rRNA gene library clones belonged to the -proteobacteria class. Most of the bacteria have been previously reported to inhabit the midgut of different mosquito species. Therefore, the results of this study indicate that different mosquito species harbor common representatives of the microbiota that may be the potential candidates for genetic manipulation to control the disease transmission capabilities of the host