Data from: Wolbachia infection alters the relative abundance of resident bacteria in adult Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, but not larvae

Insect-symbiont interactions are known to play key roles in host functions
and fitness. The common insect endosymbiont Wolbachia can reduce the
ability of several human pathogens, including arboviruses and the malaria
parasite, to replicate in insect hosts. Wolbachia does not naturally
infect Aedes aegypti, the primary vector of dengue virus, but
transinfected Ae. aegypti have anti-dengue virus properties and are
currently being trialled as a dengue biocontrol strategy. Here, we assess
the impact of Wolbachia infection of Ae. aegypti on the microbiome of wild
mosquito populations (adults and larvae) collected from release sites in
Cairns, Australia, by profiling 16S rRNA gene using next generation
sequencing. Our data indicate that Wolbachia reduces the relative
abundance of a large proportion of bacterial taxa in Ae. aegypti adults,
that is in accordance with the known pathogen-blocking effects of
Wolbachia on a variety of bacteria and viruses. In adults, several of the
most abundant bacterial genera were found to undergo significant shifts in
relative abundance. However, the genera showing the greatest changes in
relative abundance in Wolbachia-infected adults represented a low
proportion of the total microbiome. In addition, there was little effect
of Wolbachia infection on the relative abundance of bacterial taxa in
larvae, or on species diversity (accounting for species richness and
evenness together) detected in adults or larvae. These results offer
insight into the effects of Wolbachia on the Ae. aegypti microbiome in a
native setting, an important consideration for field releases of Wolbachia
into the population.