A microfluidic platform for highly parallel bite by bite profiling of mosquito-borne pathogen transmission

International audienceMosquito bites transmit a number of pathogens via salivary droplets deposited during bloodfeeding, resulting in potentially fatal diseases. Little is known about the genomic content of these nanodroplets, including the transmission dynamics of live pathogens. Here we introduce Vectorchip, a low-cost, scalable microfluidic platform enabling high-throughput molecular interrogation of individual mosquito bites. We introduce an ultra-thin PDMS membrane which acts as a biting interface to arrays of micro-wells. Freely-behaving mosquitoes deposit saliva droplets by biting into these micro-wells. By modulating membrane thickness, we observe species-dependent differences in mosquito biting capacity, utilizable for selective sample collection. We demonstrate RT-PCR and focus-forming assays on-chip to detect mosquito DNA, Zika virus RNA, as well as quantify infectious Mayaro virus particles transmitted from single mosquito bites. The Vectorchip presents a promising approach for singlebite-resolution laboratory and field characterization of vector-pathogen communities, and could serve as a powerful early warning sentinel for mosquito-borne diseases