A Gut Commensal Bacterium Promotes Mosquito Permissiveness to Arboviruses (Cell Host & Microbe)

Wu et al. identified Serratia marcescens as a mosquito gut commensal bacterium critical for efficient arboviral acquisition. S. marcescens facilitates arboviral infection through secretion of a protein named SmEnhancin. Colonization of S. marcescens in field-derived Aedes mosquitoes enhances vector competence. Gut residence of S. marcescens correlates with region-specific dengue prevalence.