Antibiotic resistant and xenobiotic degrading bacteria that shape the microbiota of the vectors Aedes aegypti & Culicoides sonorensis

Vector-borne disease cases have doubled in the United States over the last two decades. The vectors, Aedes aegypti and Culicoides sonorensis, which transmit pathogens that affect humans and animals, are present in the United States, and their geographic distribution continues to grow. The viruses spread by these vectors, such as Dengue and Bluetongue virus, are the causative agents of diseases with significant impact on public health and the livestock industry. Primary vector control methods involve the use of insecticides such as synthetic pyrethroids like permethrin; however, the development of insecticide resistance has rendered this measure insufficient to control the spread of vectors and their diseases. The new age approach to vector control, microbiota manipulation, has shown promising results, but research into this field is still ongoing. Expanding the limited knowledge of the phenotypic characterization of the culturable organisms of C. sonorensis and the effect of insecticide-selective pressure on the microbiota of Ae. aegypti provides new information for the creation of microbiome-targeting vector control methods. The presence and identification of permethrin-degrading, antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria in both mosquito and midge microbiota highlights microbiome-associated insecticide resistance and suggests that these vectors may act as reservoirs that potentially aid in the environmental dissemination of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria with further implications for vector control strategies and environmental resistance dynamics.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (M.S.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology

Grantor dc:publisher

Colorado State University. Libraries

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Authors dc:creator

• Sooklal, Tesha, author
• Borlee, Bradley R., advisor
• Saavedra-Rodriguez, Karla, committee member
• Daniels, Josh, committee member
• Leach, Jan, committee member

• antimicrobial resistance
• Culicoides sonorensis
• vectors
• climate change
• Aedes aegypti
• one health

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.

Language dc:language.iso

eng, English

Identifier URI

https://doi.org/10.25675/3.027185

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:mountainscholar.org:10217/244825