Recent advances in vector-borne disease-microbe interactions show that endogenous microbial populations can modulate the behaviors of their hosts. Mating behavior of the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae complex is a critical aspect of its reproduction biology. The success of mosquito biological control by the release of genetic sterile males depends on successful competitive mating, which in turn may depend on cultivable bacteria richness and diversity, but both biotic and abiotic factors also can influence insect behavior. For the Anopheles gambiae complex, mate pairing is of utmost importance, because most members of the complex are specialized to locate mates over a few types of swarm markers, which constitute their mating and reproduction sites. Therefore, identifying how mosquito cultivable bacteria affect mating marker selection would provide valuable information about their role in the evolution of mate selection and success. In this study, we isolated and identified bacterial genera from mating pairs captured from different swarm markers as a starting point for investigating whether mosquito cultivable bacteria richness or diversity modulate swarm marker selection and mating pair success in the savanna area of Soumousso, Burkina Faso. Several mating pairs of four swarm marker types were included in the study, originating from An. coluzzii and An. gambiae s.s ., mosquito populations. Cultivable bacteria were isolated and identified to genus from mating pair gonads to evaluate their richness and diversity. Our results show a high correlation between the symbiotic bacteria evenness and richness in vector partner choice from both mating pair success and female insemination success, indicating that this trait may be determined at least in part by the mosquito cultivable bacteria.
Gnambani et al. (Fri,) studied this question.