albopictus mosquitoes, suggesting a potential route of its acquisition through the environment. A total of eight 16S rDNA sequences identified were similar to those

of bacteria encountered in human clinical specimens, including the species Microbacterium, Klebsiella oxytoca and Haematobacter massiliensis[45, 46]. As mosquitoes are mostly known to transmit arboviruses and parasites, it is possible that they also transmit, even on a small scale, opportunistic bacterial pathogens to human and animals. In our previous study of Ae. albopictus populations from Madagascar, we identified the phyla Proteobacteria and Firmicutes, with Bacillus as a predominant isolated genus [12]. Here the majority of isolates belonged to the Enterobacteriaceae family and Pantoea PFT�� nmr was the most common genus probably due to the difference in the sampling region as well as the cultural media used. The relatively high prevalence of Ricolinostat molecular weight Pantoea isolates found in the present study emphasizes the need to also consider this bacterium as an intimate partner of the mosquito vector and to better explore its abundance and persistence among field populations, as previously explored in the context of the prevalence study performed on Acinetobacter and Asaia in the same areas. The genus Pantoea is polyphyletic and comprises seven

species [47]. Following the results of phylogenetic analyses, sequences of Pantoea isolates from Ae. albopictus tended to cluster together and with those originated from the C. quinquefasciatus species as well as one isolate from ant. A larger number of sequences is thus needed to make conclusions on the presence of well-conserved sequence of Pantoea isolates in mosquitoes. For this purpose, it would be necessary to pursue the global effort to obtain new Pantoea isolates from selleck screening library insects and environment. Members of Pantoea are commonly isolated from the environment, mostly from water and soil, and some isolates Adenosine have been recovered from human clinical samples or as causative agents of plant diseases. Pantoea agglomerans can establish a symbiotic relationship in western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) that persists for over 50 generations

or about 2 years [48]. Pantoea agglomerans was also the most frequently isolated bacterium from the midgut of Anopheles funestus and An. gambiae species caught in Kenya and Mali [49], and it has been shown to easily adapt to its hosts [50]. This bacterium was also recently detected in Ae. albopictus from North America [51]. Recently, Bisi and Lampe [22] hypothesized that P. agglomerans could be engineered to express and secrete anti-plasmodium effector proteins in Anopheles mosquitoes. As Pantoea was the most prevalent bacterium isolated in our study, it could also be a candidate for paratransgenesis in Ae. albopictus. One strategy in paratransgenesis is to insert the gene of interest into plasmids hosted by the chosen bacterium. We found Pantoea isolates from Ae.