Identification of symbionts in Spiroplasma insolitum Anopheles

Insect symbionts have the potential to block the transmission of Background vector-borne diseases by their hosts. The advancement of a symbiont-based transmission blocking strategy for malaria requires the identification and study of symbionts. Anopheles : High throughput 16S amplicon sequencing was used to profile the Methods bacteria associated with and identify potential Anopheles gambiae sensu lato symbionts. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with specific primers were subsequently used to monitor symbiont prevalence in field populations, as well as symbiont transmission patterns. : We report the discovery of the bacterial symbiont, , in Results Spiroplasma in Kenya. We determine that geographically dispersed Anopheles gambiae populations in Kenya are infected with at low Anopheles gambiae Spiroplasma prevalence levels. Molecular phylogenetics indicates that this Anopheles associated is a member of the clade. We gambiae Spiroplasma insolitum demonstrate that this symbiont is stably maternally transmitted across at least two generations and does not significantly affect the fecundity or egg to adult survival of its host. : In diverse insect species, has been found to render Conclusions Spiroplasma their host resistant to infection by pathogens. The identification of a maternally transmitted strain of in may therefore open Spiroplasma Anopheles gambiae new lines of investigation for the development of symbiont-based strategies for blocking malaria transmission. 1,2 2 2 2