Fig. 4

Assessment of the impact of supplemental feeding of Ae. albopictus with EBK on the infection and dissemination of Zika virus (ZIKV). a Impact of E. anophelis aegypti artificial infection on the survivability of septic Ae. albopictus was assessed at OD₆₀₀ = 1.0 and OD₆₀₀ = 0.5. Survivability across treatments was similar [log-rank (Mantel-Cox) test = 0.4]. b Experimental group consisted of Ae. albopictus antibiotic-treated with 20% penicillin, streptomycin, and 75ug/ml gentamicin, while the control consisted of conventionally reared Ae. albopictus. c Bacterial clearance was checked by plating antibiotic-treated midguts on an LB plate. LB plates of antibiotic-treated Ae. albopictus midgut did not have any colonies compared to the conventionally reared Ae. albopictus. d Aedes albopictus fed a supplemental diet of E. anophelis aegypti and infected with ZIKV demonstrated reduced ZIKV infection rates at 7 dpi (14%), compared to the conventionally reared Ae. albopictus (37%) (Fisher’s exact test P = 0.0003). e A negative correlation between ZIKV and E. anophelis aegypti in the midgut was observed (Spearman r = −0.3985; P < 0.05). The x-axis represents log of absolute ZIKV, while the y-axis represents log of E. anophelis aegypti copy number standards. INF: infected and NINF: non-infected