D3018: Bioengineering a potential mosquito symbiont

Endosymbiosis is ubiquitous throughout nature and bacterial endosymbionts have been heavily studied in arthropods. Endosymbiotic phenotypes have been used by humans for various applied purposes, such as vector control. Despite such applications, the molecular underpinnings of symbiosis remain unclear. A current problem is that many obligate endosymbionts are difficult to culture and manipulate. We propose to develop and engineer a symbiotic model to allow researchers to study the functional biology of endosymbiosis, as well as develop novel strategies for vector-borne disease control. We are currently focusing on the critical parameter of symbiont vertical transmission. Using surface display technology, we are engineering bacteria to express ovary localization ligands on their surface, allowing them to translocate into the developing mosquito germline. Our long-term goal is to use this technology as a self-driving, paratransgenic strategy to control arbovirus transmission by mosquitoes.