Differences in the intestinal microbiota between insecticide-resistant and -sensitive Aedes albopictus based on full-length 16S rRNA sequencing

Abstract

The intestinal symbiotic bacteria of Aedes albopictus play a potential role in host resistance to insecticides. In this study, we sequenced the full-length of 16S rRNA and analyzed the differences in the intestinal microbiota between deltamethrin-resistant and -sensitive Ae. albopictus. Symbiotic bacteria were cultured and analyzed using six types of culture media in aerobic and anaerobic environments. We found significant differences in the diversity and abundance of the intestinal microbiota of the two strains of Ae. albopictus. The symbiotic bacteria cultured in vitro were found to be mainly facultative anaerobes. The cultured bacteria such as Serratia oryzae and Acinetobacter junii may function to promote the development of insecticide resistance. This work indicates that intestinal bacteria may contribute to the enhancement of insecticide resistance of Ae. albopictus It also highlights the analytical advantage of full-length 16S rRNA sequencing to study the intestinal microbiota of mosquitoes.

Keywords: 16S rRNA; full-length sequencing; intestinal microbiota; resistance.