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Abstract Mosquitoes have profoundly affected human history and continue to threaten human health through the transmission of a diverse array of pathogens. The phylogeny of mosquitoes has remained poorly characterized due to difficulty in taxonomic sampling and limited availability of genomic data beyond the most important vector species. Here, we used phylogenomic analysis of 709 single copy ortholog groups from 256 mosquito species to produce a strongly supported phylogeny that resolves the position of the major disease vector species and the major mosquito lineages. Our analyses support an origin of mosquitoes in the early Triassic (217 MYA [highest posterior density region: 188–250 MYA]), considerably older than previous estimates. Moreover, we utilize an extensive database of host associations for mosquitoes to show that mosquitoes have shifted to feeding upon the blood of mammals numerous times, and that mosquito diversification and host-use patterns within major lineages appear to coincide in earth history both with major continental drift events and with the diversification of vertebrate classes.
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This content will become publicly available on November 15, 2025
MosAIC: An annotated collection of mosquito-associated bacteria with high-quality genome assemblies
Mosquitoes transmit medically important human pathogens, including viruses like dengue virus and parasites such asPlasmodiumspp., the causative agent of malaria. Mosquito microbiomes are critically important for the ability of mosquitoes to transmit disease-causing agents. However, while large collections of bacterial isolates and genomic data exist for vertebrate microbiomes, the vast majority of work in mosquitoes to date is based on 16S rRNA gene amplicon data that provides limited taxonomic resolution and no functional information. To address this gap and facilitate future studies using experimental microbiome manipulations, we generated a bacterialMosquito-AssociatedIsolateCollection (MosAIC) consisting of 392 bacterial isolates with extensive metadata and high-quality draft genome assemblies that are publicly available, both isolates and sequence data, for use by the scientific community. MosAIC encompasses 142 species spanning 29 bacterial families, with members of theEnterobacteriaceaecomprising 40% of the collection. Phylogenomic analysis of 3 genera,Enterobacter,Serratia, andElizabethkingia, reveal lineages of mosquito-associated bacteria isolated from different mosquito species in multiple laboratories. Investigation into species’ pangenomes further reveals clusters of genes specific to these lineages, which are of interest for future work to test for functions connected to mosquito host association. Altogether, we describe the generation of a physical collection of mosquito-associated bacterial isolates, their genomic data, and analyses of selected groups in context of genome data from closely related isolates, providing a unique, highly valuable resource for research on bacterial colonisation and adaptation within mosquito hosts. Future efforts will expand the collection to include broader geographic and host species representation, especially from individuals collected from field populations, as well as other mosquito-associated microbes, including fungi, archaea, and protozoa.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2019368
- PAR ID:
- 10627500
- Author(s) / Creator(s):
- ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more »
- Editor(s):
- Gendrin, Mathilde
- Publisher / Repository:
- PLOS
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- PLOS Biology
- Volume:
- 22
- Issue:
- 11
- ISSN:
- 1545-7885
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- e3002897
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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