Mosquito sex and mycobiota contribute to fructose metabolism in the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus

BACKGROUND: Plant floral nectars contain natural sugars such as fructose, which are a primary energy resource for adult mosquitoes. Despite the importance of carbohydrates for mosquito metabolism, a limited knowledge is available about the pathways involved in sugar assimilation by mosquitoes and their associated microbiota. To this end, we used (13)C-metabolomic and stable isotope probing approaches coupled to high-throughput sequencing to reveal fructose-related mosquito metabolic pathways and the dynamics of the active gut microbiota following fructose ingestion. RESULTS: Our results revealed significant differences in metabolic pathways between males and females, highlighting different modes of central carbon metabolism regulation. Competitive and synergistic interactions of diverse fungal taxa were identified within the active mycobiota following fructose ingestion. In addition, we identified potential cross-feeding interactions between this. Interestingly, there is a strong correlation between several active fungal taxa and the presence of fructose-derived metabolites. CONCLUSIONS: Altogether, our results provide novel insights into mosquito carbohydrate metabolism and demonstrate that dietary fructose as it relates to mosquito sex is an important determinant of mosquito metabolism; our results also further highlight the key role of active mycobiota interactions in regulating the process of fructose assimilation in mosquitoes. This study opens new avenues for future research on mosquito-microbiota trophic interactions related to plant nectar-derived sugars. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40168-022-01325-9.