Evidence of eurythermal behavior and microbiota differentiation in Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus from the Colombian Amazon biome

Temperature is one of the most important factors influencing mosquito development, vector competence, and microbiome composition, affecting the disease transmission cycle by either facilitating or inhibiting pathogen establishment. This study aimed to estimate temperature preference and its correlation with bacterial communities in populations of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus from the urban area of Leticia, Amazonas. Temperature preference profiles were obtained by introducing 50 individuals of each species and sex in six replicates for one hour into a device with a temperature gradient of 19-36 °C. Subsequently, a metataxonomic analysis of bacterial communities was performed using DNA extracted from whole mosquito body groups associated with temperature ranges defined by their statistical significance. First, it was determined that females of both species preferred temperatures between 23 and 28 °C. Meanwhile, Ae. aegypti males showed a larger temperature preference range (21-28 °C) than Ae. albopictus males (25-28 °C). Regarding bacterial communities, an increase in diversity was observed in males of both species with rising temperatures, whereas the opposite occurred in females. The Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs) associated with Asaia (2.88%), Cedecea (45.80%), Elizabethkingia (77.78%), and Klebsiella (8.90%) were the most abundant genera in Ae. aegypti. In comparison, Ae. albopictus exhibited a high abundance of Elizabethkingia (36.34%), Pseudomonas (95.08%), and Wolbachia (12.73%). Interestingly, Elizabethkingia varied in abundance according to sex and temperature in both species. It was determined that the structure of Aedes bacterial communities in the Amazon was influenced by sex, species, and temperature, indicating high plasticity and ubiquity according to temperature profiles.