Exploring dose-response relationships inAedes aegyptisurvival upon bacteria and arbovirus infection

Abstract

AbstractA detailed understanding of host fitness changes upon variation in microbe density is a central aim of infection biology. Here, we applied dose-response curves to studyAedes aegyptisurvival upon exposure to different microbes. We challenged female mosquitoes withListeria monocytogenes, a model bacterial pathogen, Dengue 4 virus and Zika virus, two medically relevant arboviruses, to understand the distribution of mosquito susceptibility and net fitness (survival) following microbe exposure. By correlating microbe loads and host health, we found that a blood meal promotes survival in our systemic bacterial infection model and that mosquitoes orally infected with bacteria had an enhanced defensive capacity than insects infected through injection. We also showed thatAedes aegyptihas a higher survival profile upon arbovirus infection but, under the conditions tested, was more susceptible to Zika virus when compared to Dengue virus. Here, we applied a framework for the study of microbe-induced mosquito mortality detailing howAedes aegyptilifespan varies upon different inoculum sizes of bacteria and arboviruses.