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- Title
Replacing a Native Wolbachia with a Novel Strain Results in an Increase in Endosymbiont Load and Resistance to Dengue Virus in a Mosquito Vector.
- Authors
Bian, Guowu; Zhou, Guoli; Lu, Peng; Xi, Zhiyong
- Abstract
Wolbachia is a maternally transmitted endosymbiotic bacterium that is estimated to infect up to 65% of insect species. The ability of Wolbachia to both induce pathogen interference and spread into mosquito vector populations makes it possible to develop Wolbachia as a biological control agent for vector-borne disease control. Although Wolbachia induces resistance to dengue virus (DENV), filarial worms, and Plasmodium in mosquitoes, species like Aedes polynesiensis and Aedes albopictus, which carry native Wolbachia infections, are able to transmit dengue and filariasis. In a previous study, the native wPolA in Ae. polynesiensis was replaced with wAlbB from Ae. albopictus, and resulted in the generation of the transinfected "MTB" strain with low susceptibility for filarial worms. In this study, we compare the dynamics of DENV serotype 2 (DENV-2) within the wild type "APM" strain and the MTB strain of Ae. polynesiensis by measuring viral infection in the mosquito whole body, midgut, head, and saliva at different time points post infection. The results show that wAlbB can induce a strong resistance to DENV-2 in the MTB mosquito. Evidence also supports that this resistance is related to a dramatic increase in Wolbachia density in the MTB's somatic tissues, including the midgut and salivary gland. Our results suggests that replacement of a native Wolbachia with a novel infection could serve as a strategy for developing a Wolbachia-based approach to target naturally infected insects for vector-borne disease control. Author Summary: Aedes polynesiensis is a vector for both dengue and filariasis in the South Pacific. Efforts are ongoing to utilize Wolbachia as a biological control agent targeting this vector through either population suppression via releases of incompatible males or population replacement for spreading disease resistance into a population. Replacing the native Wolbachia with a novel infection from Ae. albopictus has generated the "MTB" strain of Ae. polynesiensis. This MTB mosquito is reproductively-incompatible with the wild type of Ae. polynesiensis and has a low susceptibility for filarial worms. In this work, we show that the MTB mosquito is resistant to dengue virus with a reduced viral infection in the mosquito whole body, midgut, head, and saliva. Our results further show its refractoriness to dengue virus is associated with a dramatic increase in Wolbachia density in those mosquito tissues where dengue virus needs to reside, replicate, and travel in order to be transmitted to humans. These results suggest that the MTB strain has the potential to be used in Wolbachia-based strategies to control both dengue and filariasis in the South Pacific.
- Subjects
OCEANIA; AEDES aegypti; DENGUE viruses; MOSQUITO vectors; WOLBACHIA; BIOLOGICAL pest control agents; FILARIAL worms
- Publication
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2013, Vol 7, Issue 6, p1
- ISSN
1935-2727
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1371/journal.pntd.0002250