Abstract
Background: Natural Wolbachia infections in malaria mosquitoes were recently reported in Africa, and negatively correlated with the development of Plasmodium falciparum in the vectors. The occurrence and effects of Wolbachia infections outside Africa have not been described and may have been underestimated. Methods: Mosquitoes were collected by human-landing catch during May and June 2017 in ten villages in Kayin state, Myanmar. Closely related species of malaria vectors were identified with molecular assays. Wolbachia infection rates were assessed with quantitative real-time PCR. Results: Low titer of Wolbachia DNA was detected in 13/370 samples in six malaria vector species. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA sequences revealed a high diversity of Wolbachia strains and identified lineages different from those described in the African malaria mosquitoes. Conclusion: These low-density genetically diverse natural Wolbachia infections question the ecology and biology of Wolbachia-Anopheles interactions in Southeast Asia. Their effects on malaria transmission and mosquito vectors are yet to be determined.
Highlights
Wolbachia are intracellular bacteria that infect a wide variety of arthropods and filarial nematodes
We report the occurrence of 12 Anopheles taxa among which nine were groups of closely related or sibling species (Maculatus, Funestus, Jamesii, Leucosphyrus, Annularis, Barbirostris, Subpictus, Hyrcanus and Asiaticus Groups) and only three were sensu stricto species (An. karwari, An. kochi and An. tessellatus)
The low-density genetically diverse natural Wolbachia infections reported in this study warrant further investigations to understand better the ecology and biology of Anopheles-Wolbachia interactions in Southeast Asia
Summary
Wolbachia are intracellular bacteria that infect a wide variety of arthropods and filarial nematodes. Wolbachia can interfere with the development of some pathogens in the mosquito host, including dengue virus[5], Plasmodium malaria parasites[6] and filarial nematodes[7]. Including references 5 & 6 in the context of pathogen blocking is not appropriate given this was work which was proposing to use cytoplasmic incompatibility to reduce Culex mosquito populations and artificial Wolbachia-infected mosquito lines were only established in the mid 2000s. Natural Wolbachia infections in malaria mosquitoes were recently reported in Africa, and negatively correlated with the development of Plasmodium falciparum in the vectors. Their effects on malaria transmission and mosquito vectors are yet to be determined
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