Abstract
Aedes aegypti is an invasive mosquito species and major vector of human arboviruses. A wide variety of control methods have been employed to combat mosquito populations. One of them is the sterile insect technique (SIT) that has recently attracted considerable research efforts due to its proven record of success and the absence of harmful environmental footprints. The efficiency and cost-effectiveness of SIT is significantly enhanced by male-only releases. For mosquito SIT, male-only releases are ideally needed since females bite, blood-feed and transmit the pathogens. Ae. aegypti genetic sexing strains (GSS) have recently become available and are based on eye colour mutations that were chosen as selectable markers. These genetic sexing strains were developed through classical genetics and it was shown to be subjected to genetic recombination, a phenomenon that is not suppressed in males as is the case in many Diptera. The genetic stability of these GSS was strengthened by the induction and isolation of radiation-induced inversions. In this study, we used the red eye mutation and the inversion Inv35 line of the Ae. aegypti red-eye GSS s and introgressed them in six different genomic backgrounds to develop GSS with the respective local genomic backgrounds. Our goal was to assess whether the recombination frequencies in the strains with and without the inversion are affected by the different genomic backgrounds. In all cases the recombination events were suppressed in all Inv35 GSS strains, thus indicating that the genomic background does not negatively affect the inversion result. Absence of any effect that could be ascribed to genetic differences, enables the introgression of the key elements of the GSS into the local genomic background prior to release to the target areas. Maintaining the local background increases the chances for successful matings between released males and wild females and addresses potential regulatory concerns regarding biosafety and biosecurity.
Highlights
Arthropod-borne viruses or “arboviruses” transmitted by Aedes spp. mosquitoes are accountable for the emergence of human epidemic diseases across the globe (Weaver and Reisen 2010; Lucey and Gostin 2016; Siraj et al, 2017; Wilder-Smith et al, 2017)
In the re strain all individuals have red eye color which is evident throughout all developmental stages and it darkens as adults age
The Ae. aegypti Red-eye genetic sexing strains (GSS) has been developed through classical genetics and is based on the re morphological marker that has been mapped to chromosome I (Koskinioti et al, 2020)
Summary
Arthropod-borne viruses or “arboviruses” transmitted by Aedes spp. mosquitoes are accountable for the emergence of human epidemic diseases across the globe (Weaver and Reisen 2010; Lucey and Gostin 2016; Siraj et al, 2017; Wilder-Smith et al, 2017). Ae. aegypti has successfully spread in tropic and subtropic zones worldwide (Kraemer et al, 2015). It is daylight-active, thrives in urban and peri-urban areas, feeds exclusively on human blood multiple times during a gonotrophic cycle, and shows high susceptibility to arboviruses (Scott and Takken 2012; Wilder-Smith et al, 2017; Ryan et al, 2019). Urbanization of rural areas, increase of travelling activities, globalization, and climate change accelerate the invasion potential of Ae. aegypti and enhance the viral transmission (Wilder-Smith and Gubler 2008; Bhatt et al, 2013; Struchiner et al, 2015; Ryan et al, 2019; Iwamura et al, 2020)
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