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Chemical parameters and bacterial communities associated with larval habitats of Anopheles, Culex and Aedes mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in western Kenya

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Abstract

Aquatic larval habitat conditions influence the development, fitness and vectorial capacity of mosquitoes. In turn, human activities can influence these conditions and shape mosquito vector distribution, thus affecting pathogen circulation and transmission. We measured environmental factors (chemical and microbial) in mosquito larval habitats and evaluated their potential as predictors for the occurrence of different mosquito species in an arbovirus and malaria endemic region of western Kenya. We found significantly greater proportions of Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae in ammonium and phosphate rich habitats, suggesting that fertilizer usage could potentially increase aquatic habitat suitability and Aedes vectored disease transmission. Anopheles gambiae larval habitats correlated significantly with higher temperatures. However, none of the Culex species’ habitats correlated with investigated variables, indicating greater larval plasticity compared to Aedes or Anopheles. Profiling of bacterial communities by 16S rRNA pyrosequencing revealed Proteobacteria, Bacterioidetes and Firmicutes as the major bacteria phyla present in mosquito aquatic microhabitats. Although there were no correlations between microbiota composition or diversity and larval species abundance, the dominant genera of microbes detected in larval habitats were reported in larval and adult mid-guts, suggesting that bacteria acquired from the larval habitats are transmitted to adult stages. This study identified the chemical and bacterial composition of aquatic microhabitats that are conducive to the development of different mosquito vectors in western Kenya. This information can inform potential vector control strategies by assessing management of breeding sites based on likely exposure to fertilizer, light and bacterial fauna.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Martin Lüscher Emerging Infectious Diseases (ML-EID) Laboratory, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), PO Box 30772-00100, Nairobi, Kenya

    Thomas Ogao Onchuru, Yvonne Ukamaka Ajamma, Daniel Masiga & Jandouwe Villinger

  2. Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Kenyatta University, PO Box 43844-00100, Nairobi, Kenya

    Thomas Ogao Onchuru & Marion Burugu

  3. Department for Evolutionary Ecology, Institute for Zoology, Johannes Gutenberg University, Johann-Joachim-Becher-Weg 13, 55128, Mainz, Germany

    Thomas Ogao Onchuru & Martin Kaltenpoth

  4. Department of Botany (Genetics), Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, PO Box 62000-00200, Nairobi, Kenya

    Yvonne Ukamaka Ajamma

  5. Insect Symbiosis Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology (MPI-CE), Hans-Knoll Str. 8, 07745, Jena, Germany

    Martin Kaltenpoth

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  1. Thomas Ogao Onchuru
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Onchuru, T.O., Ajamma, Y.U., Burugu, M. et al. Chemical parameters and bacterial communities associated with larval habitats of Anopheles, Culex and Aedes mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in western Kenya. Int J Trop Insect Sci 36, 146–160 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742758416000096

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