Resistance to permethrin alters the gut microbiota of Aedes aegypti

Insecticide resistance has emerged as a persistent threat to the fight against vector-borne diseases. We compared the gut microbiota of permethrin-selected (PS) strain of Aedes aegypti relative to the parent (KW) strain from Key West, Florida. Bacterial richness but not diversity was significantly higher in PS strain compared to KW strain. The two mosquito strains also differed in their gut microbial composition. Cutibacterium spp., Corynebacterium spp., Citricoccus spp., Leucobacter spp., Acinetobacter spp., Dietzia spp., and Anaerococcus spp. were more abundant in PS strain than in KW strain. In contrast, Sphingomonas spp., Aquabacterium spp., Methylobacterium spp., Flavobacterium spp., Lactobacillus spp., unclassified Burkholderiaceae and unclassified Nostocaceae were more abundant in KW strain compared to PS strain. PS strain was enriched with propionate metabolizers, selenate reducers, and xylan, chitin, and chlorophenol degraders while KW strain was enriched with sulfur oxidizers, sulfur metabolizers, sulfate reducers and naphthalene and aromatic hydrocarbons degraders. These findings demonstrate an association between the gut microbiota and insecticide resistance in an important vector species and sets the foundation for future studies to investigate the contribution of gut microbiota to evolution of insecticide resistance in disease vectors.