Composition of Human Skin Microbiota Affects Attractiveness to Malaria Mosquitoes

Abstract

The African malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto continues to play an important role in malaria transmission, which is aggravated by its high degree of anthropophily, making it among the foremost vectors of this disease. In the current study we set out to unravel the strong association between this mosquito species and human beings, as it is determined by odorant cues derived from the human skin. Microbial communities on the skin play key roles in the production of human body odour. We demonstrate that the composition of the skin microbiota affects the degree of attractiveness of human beings to this mosquito species. Bacterial plate counts and 16S rRNA sequencing revealed that individuals that are highly attractive to An. gambiae s.s. have a significantly higher abundance, but lower diversity of bacteria on their skin than individuals that are poorly attractive. Bacterial genera that are correlated with the relative degree of attractiveness to mosquitoes were identified. The discovery of the connection between skin microbial populations and attractiveness to mosquitoes may lead to the development of new mosquito attractants and personalized methods for protection against vectors of malaria and other infectious diseases.

Leptotrichia species in human infections II

“…In Bergey’s Manual of 2005 [95] and based on comparative analysis of 16S rDNA sequences [31], the genus Leptotrichia is placed in the phylum Fusobacteria in the family II Leptotrichiaceae with Leptotrichia as the first genus. Other genera of this family include Sebaldella , Sneathia , and Streptobacillus [3,95].…”

“…Wu et al [57] reported recovery of Leptotrichia species, together with Veillonella parvula and Peptostreptococcus species in low amounts in cigarette smokers’ mouthwash (Table 2) [57,90,91]. Also, human skin emanation samples and oropharyngeal samples of mite-food-sensitized children with rhinitis and asthma were found to contain Leptotrichia species [31,92]. …”

“…The importance of these associations remains unknown. Leptotrichia species, together with Delftia species and Actinobacteria species, were significantly correlated with individuals attacked by malaria mosquitoes [31]. Leptotrichia species, L. wadei , and Streptococcus species were isolated together with C. albicans from dental plaque samples of patients with or without rampant caries [67,89].…”

Mammalian conservation: scientific frontiers and socio-political pitfalls

“…Theis et al (2012) report that symbiotic bacteria in hyenas appear to mediate their social pheromones. Verhulst et al (2011) have found that humans with higher microbial diversity on their skins are less attractive to the malaria mosquito (Anopheles gambiae). It is apparent that microbiome/host interactions will be found to be major influences on host behavior, health, and social interactions.…”

The bacterial metabolite 2-aminoacetophenone promotes association of pathogenic bacteria with flies

“…For example, bacteria and their products have been shown to attract various Diptera species, including fruit flies, screw-worm flies, apple maggots and mosquitoes [11][12][13][14][15] . Yet in those studies, the mechanisms attracting flies remain obscure or those proposed apply only to specific insect families.…”