# Effects of the Microbiome on Pathogen Carriage by Insect Vectors

> **NIH NIH P20** · UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA · 2020 · $190,952

## Abstract

Project Summary – PROJECT 3: JI, Floyd Reed 
The overall goal of this project is to investigate the complex interactions between Wolbachia, other microbiota, 
and their mosquito-host's gene regulation as a part of an integrated genetic pest-management system. 
Mosquito-vectored diseases, especially new and emerging ones, remain one of the largest worldwide threats 
to human health including within the state of Hawaiʻi. A wide range of strategies has been proposed to address 
mosquito-vectored disease and the manipulation of Wolbachia, a symbiotic bacterium found naturally in the 
majority of arthropod species, has emerged as a promising new approach to reduce vector competence and 
thereby reduce the rate of infectious disease transmission. However, a great deal of uncertainty surrounds the 
mechanisms by which Wolbachia infection results in altered vector competence. Furthermore, non-Wolbachia 
microbiota are known to interact with host vector competence, host gene expression, and Wolbachia. These 
observations suggest a complex three-way interaction between the mosquito host, Wolbachia, and non- 
Wolbachia microbiota. This proposed project seeks to leverage next generation sequencing technology, 
genomics, and state-of-the-art data analysis to explore the basis of these complex interactions and to establish 
the groundwork necessary to construct a predictive mechanistic model of vector competence. This work will be 
conducted in two exceptionally widespread mosquito species, Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes albopictus, 
that vector a large number of human pathogens. It will also analyze the time component of the evolution of 
these interactions in two ways. Vector competence, using the dengue virus model, will be assayed both “early” 
and “late” after infection with a novel strain of Wolbachia. Also, vector competence will be analyzed with a fully 
competent (Aedes) and naive (Culex) host to model the dynamics: (i) when a disease causing pathogen 
switches hosts to a new species and (ii) within a well established host. This work will have direct implications 
for a major challenge to human health and will provide an immediate resource for the development of 
therapeutics for vector-borne disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10007944
- **Project number:** 5P20GM125508-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA
- **Principal Investigator:** Floyd Reed
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $190,952
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-08-15 → 2021-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10007944

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10007944, Effects of the Microbiome on Pathogen Carriage by Insect Vectors (5P20GM125508-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10007944. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*