The tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus

The increase of the human and economic flows combined with mosquito ecological and physiological plasticity promoted its expansion to new territories, therefore exposing them to vector-borne diseases. This mosquito can transmit several arboviruses including dengue virus, chikungunya virus, Zika virus or Rift Valley Fever Virus which cause morbidity and mortality in humans and animals. Meanwhile, mosquitoes are also associated with other microorganisms like bacteria or fungi, mostly acquired from their environment that together form their microbiota. However, the impact of these microorganisms on the vector is unclear. In Micro-Be-Have, we hypothesized that the microbiota can influence the behavior of the mosquito. Behavior alteration could happen at distance, were microbes serve as environmental cues to attract or repel mosquitoes. It could be implemented within the vector’s tissues, were microbes could influence neuronal activity to manipulate host behavior. We are focusing on several behaviors that can impact evolution and disease transmission in mosquitoes like host preference, egg-laying behavior, partner choice, biting… By associating mosquitoes with a controlled microbiota representative of wild microbial communities, we will try to decipher the role of arboviruses and bacteria, alone or in interaction, on the behavior of Aedes albopictus.