Bacterial diversity of wild-caught Lutzomyia longipalpis (a vector of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil) under distinct physiological conditions by metagenomics analysis

BACKGROUND: The leishmaniases are a group of diseases caused by protozoans of the genus Leishmania, which are transmitted by the bite of phlebotomine sand flies. In the New World, Lutzomyia longipalpis is the most important vector of visceral leishmaniasis and is a proven vector for Leishmania infantum chagasi in Brazil. During development within the vector, Leishmania can interact with a variety of microorganisms such as fungi and bacteria. The presence of bacteria in the midgut of sand flies can influence the development and survival of the parasite. RESULTS: The bacteria-targeted metagenomic analysis revealed different community compositions between the distinct physiological stages of those tested. The amplicon-oriented metagenomic profiling revealed 64 bacterial genera and 46 families. By crossing the taxa indices from each experimental condition a core composed of 6 genera was identified (Enterobacter, Serratia, Stenotrophomonas, Enhydrobacter, Pseudomonas and Chryseobacterium). CONCLUSIONS: The observed dynamic nature of the bacterial community expands the knowledge pertaining to the tripartite host-microbiota-pathogen interactions. Further studies addressing how laboratory and field collected communities differ are critical to successfully develop control strategies based on bacterial symbionts and paratransgenesis, as already tested in other arthropod vectors. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13071-017-2593-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.