Male mosquito microbiome shift in response to gut fungus

The objectives of this study were to characterize newly emerged adult male mosquito (Aedes aegypti) microbiomes and evaluate whether larval exposure to an obligate gut fungal symbiont (Zancudomyces culisetae) impacted host-associated microbial communities. These fungal-bacterial-host dynamics have never been investigated in males, therefore, the findings of this study contribute to our knowledge of how fungi impact mosquito microbiomes across sexes. Importantly, results showed bacterial communities were strongly affected by the fungus. Differential shifts in the microbiota were detected in males relative to previously studied females, suggesting that sex-specific fungal-bacterial-host dynamics may take place in the A. aegypti - Z. culisetae system. These findings indicate that future studies of host-associated microbiota should take into account the roles that fungi and host sex play in shaping host microbiomes.