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Microplastic ingestion perturbs the microbiome of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) and Aedes aegypti
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Researchers fed mosquito larvae polystyrene microplastics and found the particles accumulated in their guts, caused physical damage, and disrupted both bacterial and fungal communities in their bodies. The microplastics persisted through the larval stage into adulthood and were shed in adult feces. While focused on mosquitoes, this study shows how microplastics can alter the microbiome of insects that interact closely with humans and spread disease.
Microplastics (MPs) are common environmental pollutants; however, little is known about their effects after ingestion by insects. Here we fed Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti (L.) and Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus (Skuse) mosquito larvae 1 µm polystyrene MPs and examined the impacts of ingestion on adult emergence rates, gut damage, and fungal and bacterial microbiota. Results show that MPs accumulate in the larval guts, resulting in gut damage. However, little impact on adult emergence rates was observed. MPs are also found in adult guts postemergence from the pupal stage, and adults expel MPs in their frass after obtaining sugar meals. Moreover, MPs effects on insect microbiomes need to be better defined. To address this knowledge gap, we investigated the relationship between MP ingestion and the microbial communities in Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti. The microbiota composition was altered by the ingestion of increasing concentrations of MPs. Amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) that contributed to differences in the bacterial and fungal microbiota composition between MP treatments were from the genera Elizabethkingia and Aspergillus, respectively. Furthermore, a decrease in the alpha diversity of the fungal and bacterial microbiota was observed in treatments where larvae ingested MPs. These results highlight the potential for the bacterial and fungal constituents in the mosquito microbiome to respond differently to the ingestion of MPs. Based on our findings and the effects of MP ingestion on the mosquito host micro- and mycobiome, MP pollution could impact the vector competence of important mosquito-transmitted viruses and parasites that cause human and animal diseases.
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Microplastic ingestion perturbs the microbiome of Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers exposed Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquito larvae to polystyrene microplastics and found that ingestion altered adult emergence rates, caused gut tissue damage, and disrupted the gut microbiome, demonstrating that microplastic contamination can impair mosquito development.
Microplastics on the menu; exploring interactions between two mosquitoes species and microplastics
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Researchers exposed larvae of two mosquito species with contrasting feeding ecologies (Anopheles gambiae and Aedes albopictus) to varying concentrations, sizes, and densities of polystyrene and polyethylene microplastics, finding that ingestion risk was primarily determined by particle size rather than larval ecology, and that microplastics affected survival only in An. gambiae adults at the highest concentration, with no physical or chemical alteration of microplastics detected post-digestion.
Tracking micro- and nanoplastics in Aedes albopictus: From ingestion to metabolic disruption
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Researchers tracked the fate of polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics in the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus from larval ingestion through adult development. They found that ingested particles crossed the gut barrier, persisted in tissues, and were retained through metamorphosis, while causing reduced body weight and significant metabolic disruptions. The study suggests that plastic pollution may affect mosquito biology through endocrine disruption and altered energy metabolism pathways.
Microplastics affect mosquito from aquatic to terrestrial lifestyles and are transferred to mammals through mosquito bites
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In a striking finding, researchers showed that mosquitoes exposed to microplastics as larvae carried the particles throughout their entire life cycle, and when those adult mosquitoes bit mice, fluorescent microplastic signals were detected in the animals' blood and skin. The microplastics also reduced the effectiveness of insecticides against the mosquitoes and altered their gut bacteria. This study reveals a previously unknown pathway for microplastics to enter mammals, including potentially humans, through mosquito bites.
Microplastic exposure alters immune-related gene expression in Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes and larval microbiota diversity
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Tiny plastic particles found in water where mosquitoes grow up can weaken the insects' immune system, which might make them better at spreading diseases to humans. Scientists exposed mosquito larvae to different amounts of microplastics and found that even after the mosquitoes became adults, their immune genes were still affected and less able to fight off infections. This matters because if microplastics help mosquitoes survive pathogens better, it could increase disease transmission to people, so we need to understand this pollution's full impact on disease-carrying insects.
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