Abstract
Background Aedes albopictus has recently been implicated as a major vector in the emergence of dengue and chikungunya in several parts of India, like Orissa, which is gradually gaining endemicity for arboviral diseases. Ae. albopictus is further known to be naturally infected with Wolbachia (maternally inherited bacterium), which causes cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) in mosquitoes leading to sperm-egg incompatibility inducing the death of embryo. Knowledge of genetic diversity of Ae. albopictus, along with revealing the type of Wolbachia infection in Ae. albopictus is important to explore the genetic and biological characteristics of Ae. albopictus, prior to exploring the uses of CI-based vector control strategies. In this study, we assessed the population genetic structure and the pattern of Wolbachia infection in Ae. albopictus mosquitoes of Orissa.Methods and Results Ae. albopictus mosquitoes were collected from 15 districts representing the four physiographical regions of Orissa from 2010–2012, analyzed for genetic variability at seven microsatellite loci and genotyped for Wolbachia strain detection using wsp gene primers. Most microsatellite markers were successfully amplified and were polymorphic, showing moderate genetic structure among all geographic populations (FST = 0.088). Genetic diversity was high (FST = 0.168) in Coastal Plains populations when compared with other populations, which was also evident from cluster analyses that showed most Coastal Plains populations consisted of a separate genetic cluster. Genotyping analyses revealed that Wolbachia-infected Ae. albopictus field populations of Orissa were mostly superinfected with wAlbA and wAlbB strains. Wolbachia superinfection was more pronounced in the Coastal Plain populations.ConclusionHigh genetic structure and Wolbachia superinfection, observed in the Coastal Plain populations of Orissa suggested it to be genetically and biologically more unique than other populations, and hence could influence their vectorial attributes. Such high genetic diversity observed among Coastal Plains populations could be attributed to multiple introductions of Ae. albopictus in this region.
Highlights
The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus (Skuse 1884) is a highly invasive species and has been implicated as one of the major vectors of arboviral diseases in many parts of India
High genetic structure and Wolbachia superinfection, observed in the Coastal Plain populations of Orissa suggested it to be genetically and biologically more unique than other populations, and could influence their vectorial attributes. Such high genetic diversity observed among Coastal Plains populations could be attributed to multiple introductions of Ae. albopictus in this region
To assess the impact of null alleles on population genetic analyses, these analyses were performed both before and after the dataset were adjusted for estimated null allele frequencies
Summary
The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus (Skuse 1884) is a highly invasive species and has been implicated as one of the major vectors of arboviral diseases in many parts of India. Ae. albopictus has been reported to be naturally infected with dengue and chikungunya virus during several outbreaks that flourished throughout India in recent past [1,2]. The diverse host spectrum of Ae. albopictus enhances its biological traits like fecundity and survival, and its capacity to propagate zoonotic pathogens across animal species and to humans, thereby rendering it to be a potential vector of arboviral diseases [8]. Aedes albopictus has recently been implicated as a major vector in the emergence of dengue and chikungunya in several parts of India, like Orissa, which is gradually gaining endemicity for arboviral diseases. We assessed the population genetic structure and the pattern of Wolbachia infection in Ae. albopictus mosquitoes of Orissa
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
