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- Title
Multiple Wolbachia strains provide comparative levels of protection against dengue virus infection in Aedes aegypti.
- Authors
Flores, Heather A.; Taneja de Bruyne, Jyotika; O'Donnell, Tanya B.; Tuyet Nhu, Vu; Thi Giang, Nguyen; Thi Xuan Trang, Huynh; Thi Thuy Van, Huynh; Thi Long, Vo; Thi Dui, Le; Le Anh Huy, Huynh; Thi Le Duyen, Huynh; Thi Van Thuy, Nguyen; Thanh Phong, Nguyen; Van Vinh Chau, Nguyen; Thi Hue Kien, Duong; Thuy Vi, Tran; Wills, Bridget; O'Neill, Scott L.; Simmons, Cameron P.; Carrington, Lauren B.
- Abstract
The insect bacterium Wolbachia pipientis is being introgressed into Aedes aegypti populations as an intervention against the transmission of medically important arboviruses. Here we compare Ae. aegypti mosquitoes infected with wMelCS or wAlbB to the widely used wMel Wolbachia strain on an Australian nuclear genetic background for their susceptibility to infection by dengue virus (DENV) genotypes spanning all four serotypes. All Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes were more resistant to intrathoracic DENV challenge than their wildtype counterparts. Blocking of DENV replication was greatest by wMelCS. Conversely, wAlbB-infected mosquitoes were more susceptible to whole body infection than wMel and wMelCS. We extended these findings via mosquito oral feeding experiments, using viremic blood from 36 acute, hospitalised dengue cases in Vietnam, additionally including wMel and wildtype mosquitoes on a Vietnamese nuclear genetic background. As above, wAlbB was less effective at blocking DENV replication in the abdomen compared to wMel and wMelCS. The transmission potential of all Wolbachia-infected mosquito lines (measured by the presence/absence of infectious DENV in mosquito saliva) after 14 days, was significantly reduced compared to their wildtype counterparts, and lowest for wMelCS and wAlbB. These data support the use of wAlbB and wMelCS strains for introgression field trials and the biocontrol of DENV transmission. Furthermore, despite observing significant differences in transmission potential between wildtype mosquitoes from Australia and Vietnam, no difference was observed between wMel-infected mosquitoes from each background suggesting that Wolbachia may override any underlying variation in DENV transmission potential. Author summary: Aedes aegypti transmit a number of medically important arboviruses, including dengue, Zika, chikungunya, Mayaro and yellow fever viruses. Over the past 50 years, the burden of Ae. aegypti-transmitted disease has significantly increased–underscoring how current methods of vector control are unable to cope with this problem. Wolbachia-based biocontrol methods show extreme promise in reducing the global burden of vector-borne disease. The wMel strain, widely being used in field trials around the world, substantially reduces the ability of Ae. aegypti mosquitoes to transmit dengue, Zika, and other viruses. Here we describe a comprehensive comparative study of the viral blocking abilities of wMel to wMelCS and wAlbB which have previously been shown to have stronger viral blocking or an expanded utility in extreme environments, respectively. Using two different methods to measure viral replication and transmission potential, we show that both strains provide improved viral protection over wMel in the lab supporting further examination in field trials. We further compare the transmission potential of wMel in two different genetic backgrounds and find that wMel provides equivalent levels of viral blocking despite differences observed in wildtype mosquitoes, suggesting that viral blocking induced by wMel may override any underlying variation for DENV transmission potential.
- Subjects
VIETNAM; AUSTRALIA; AEDES aegypti; VIRUS diseases; ARBOVIRUS diseases; ARBOVIRUSES; DENGUE viruses; WOLBACHIA; YELLOW fever; VIRAL transmission
- Publication
PLoS Pathogens, 2020, Vol 16, Issue 4, p1
- ISSN
1553-7366
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1371/journal.ppat.1008433