Metabarcoding: A Powerful Yet Still Underestimated Approach for the Comprehensive Study of Vector-Borne Pathogen Transmission Cycles and Their Dynamics

Abstract

The implementation of sustainable control strategies aimed at disrupting the transmission of vector-borne pathogens requires a comprehensive knowledge of the vector ecology in the different eco-epidemiological contexts, as well as the local pathogen transmission cycles and their dynamics. However, even when focusing only on one specific vector-borne disease, achieving this knowledge is highly challenging, as the pathogen may exhibit a high genetic diversity and multiple vector species or subspecies and host species may be involved. In addition, the development of the pathogen and the vectorial capacity of the vectors may be affected by their midgut and/or salivary gland microbiome. The recent advent of Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies has brought powerful tools that can allow for the simultaneous identification of all these essential components, although their potential is only just starting to be realized. We present a metabarcoding approach that can facilitate the description of comprehensive host-pathogen networks, integrate important microbiome and coinfection data, identify at-risk situations, and disentangle the transmission cycles of vector-borne pathogens. Please use Adobe Acrobat Reader to read this book chapter for free. Just open this same document with Adobe Reader. If you do not have it, you can download it here. You can freely access the chapter at the Web Viewer here. Vector-Borne Diseases -Recent Developments in Epidemiology and Control 2This powerful approach should be generalized to unravel the transmission cycles of any pathogen and their dynamics, which in turn will help the design and implementation of sustainable, effective, and locally adapted control strategies.

Risk factors for infestation by Triatoma dimidiata in a rural locality of Veracruz, Mexico, with active transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi: weather and rain as factors

“…Another important point is the greater abundance of insects during the dry season, suggesting that an additional seasonal infestation by insects coming from sylvatic or peridomestic ecotopes, like in the Yucatan peninsula [9, 10, 23, 24], is also occurring. Here again, a similar situation has been reported in Guatemala [30].…”

Identification of blood-feeding sources in Panstrongylus, Psammolestes, Rhodnius and Triatoma using amplicon-based next-generation sequencing

“…Our results suggest that NGS technologies can be used to identify a vast diversity of feeding sources of triatomines. Thus, these technologies could play a crucial role in understanding the ecology of Chagas disease, especially the parasite transmission dynamics, as it has been suggested previously [ 41 ].…”

A new method of metabarcoding Microsporidia and their hosts reveals high levels of microsporidian infections in mosquitoes (Culicidae)

“…However, there are still groups of organisms for which metabarcoding could offer new perspectives, especially with regard to high‐throughput identification and diagnostics of pathogens and pests (Tedersoo, Drenkhan, Anslan, Morales‐Rodriguez, & Cleary, 2018). Furthermore, NGS‐based methods are increasingly being recognized as pivotal for both the detection and the identification of pathogens, especially in cases of emerging infectious diseases, and in pathogens with complex life histories and co‐infections (Hernández‐Andrade et al., 2019; Näpflin et al., 2019).…”