Molecular detection and identification of Wolbachia in three species of the genus Lutzomyia on the Colombian Caribbean coast

Background

The hematophagous habits of insects belonging to the genus Lutzomyia (Diptera: Psychodidae), as well as their role as biological vectors of Leishmania species, make their presence an indication of infection risk. In the present study, seven species of Lutzomyia were identified and screened for natural infections with Wolbachia.

Methods

Collection of sand flies was done in an endemic focus of leishmaniasis on the Colombian Caribbean coast (Department of Sucre, Ovejas municipality). DNA collected from Lutzomyia species was evaluated with PCR for wsp gene amplification to screen for bacterial infection.

Results

Endosymbiotic Wolbachia was found in three species: Lutzomyia c. cayennensis, Lutzomyia dubitans and Lutzomyia evansi. Two Wolbachia strains (genotypes) were found in Lutzomyia spp. These genotypes were previously unknown in dipteran insects. The wLev strain was found in Lutzomyia dubitans, L. c. cayennensis and L. evansi and the wLcy strain was found only in L. c. cayennensis.

Conclusions

Genetic analysis indicated that the Wolbachia strains wLcy and wLev belong to the B Supergroup. This study provides evidence of infections of more than one strain of Wolbachia in L. c. cayennensis.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-017-2031-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Structural differences in gut bacteria communities in developmental stages of natural populations of Lutzomyia evansi from Colombia's Caribbean coast

Background

Lutzomyia evansi, a phlebotomine insect endemic to Colombia’s Caribbean coast, is considered to be the main vector of visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis in the region. Although insects of this species can harbor pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms in their intestinal microbiota, there is little information available about the diversity of gut bacteria present in Lutzomyia evansi. In this study, conventional microbiological methods and molecular tools were used to assess the composition of bacterial communities associated with Lutzomyia evansi guts in immature and adult stages of natural populations from the department of Sucre (Caribbean coast of Colombia).

Methods

Sand flies were collected from two locations (peri-urban and jungle biotype) in the Department of Sucre (Caribbean coast of Colombia). A total of 752 Lutzomyia evansi intestines were dissected. In this study, 125 bacterial strains were isolated from different culture media (LB Agar, MacConkey Agar). Different methods were used for bacterial identification, including ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (RISA) and analysis of the 16S rRNA and gyrB gene sequences. The genetic profiles of the bacterial populations were generated and temporal temperature gradient gel electrophoresis (TTGE) was used to compare them with total gut DNA. We also used PCR and DNA sequence analysis to determine the presence of Wolbachia endosymbiont bacteria and Leishmania parasites.

Results

The culture-dependent technique showed that the dominant intestinal bacteria isolated belong to Acinetobacter, Enterobacter, Pseudomonas, Ochrobactrum, Shinella and Paenibacillus in the larval stage; Lysobacter, Microbacterium, Streptomyces, Bacillus and Rummeliibacillus in the pupal stage; and Staphylococcus, Streptomyces, Brevibacterium, Acinetobacter, Enterobacter and Pantoea in the adult stage. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences between the fingerprint patterns of the PCR-TTGE bands in bacterial communities from immature and adult stages. Additionally, differences were found in bacterial community structure in fed females, unfed females, males and larvae. The intestinal bacteria detected by PCR-TTGE were Enterobacter cloacae and Bacillus thuringiensis, which were present in different life stages of Lu. evansi, and Burkholderia cenocepacia and Bacillus gibsonii, which were detected only in the larval stage. Wolbachia and Leishmania were not detected in gut samples of Lutzomyia evansi.

Conclusions

The analyses conducted using microbiological and molecular approaches indicated significant variations in the bacterial communities associated with the gut of Lu. evansi, depending on the developmental stage and food source. We propose that these elements affect microbial diversity in L. evansi guts and may in turn influence pathogen transmission to humans bitten by this insect.