Metagenome analysis of the microbial communities associated with the bloodsucking black fly Simulium maculatum (Diptera: Simuliidae)

Most black flies are pests of great importance for both human and livestock as well as pathogen vectors causing diseases through blood sucking. However, there were few research about the identity of the pathogens in bloodsucking pests so far. In this study, the metagenome of the larval gut microbiota in the black fly Simulium maculatum along with two associated microbiota samples collected from S. maculatum living environment: water and a species of algae Spirogyra communis, were sequenced and annotated for the first time. 1320 species of microbiota were obtained from the gut microbiota of S. maculatum larval midgut, among which Debaryomyces prosopidis occupied the highest proportion followed by Bacillus cereus and other Bacillus species. The results of this study laid a foundation for further exploring the intestinal microbiota of S. maculatum involved in the adaptation to its living environment, which might contribute to prove a new light on pest control of blood sucking insects.