Abstract
BackgroundThe mosquito Aedes aegypti was recently transinfected with a life-shortening strain of the endosymbiont Wolbachia pipientis (wMelPop) as the first step in developing a biocontrol strategy for dengue virus transmission. In addition to life-shortening, the wMelPop-infected mosquitoes also exhibit increased daytime activity and metabolic rates. Here we sought to quantify the blood-feeding behaviour of Wolbachia-infected females as an indicator of any virulence or energetic drain associated with Wolbachia infection.Methodology/Principal FindingsIn a series of blood-feeding trials in response to humans, we have shown that Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes do not differ in their response time to humans, but that as they age they obtain fewer and smaller blood meals than Wolbachia-uninfected controls. Lastly, we observed a behavioural characteristic in the Wolbachia infected mosquitoes best described as a “bendy” proboscis that may explain the decreased biting success.Conclusions/SignificanceTaken together the evidence suggests that wMelPop infection may be causing tissue damage in a manner that intensifies with mosquito age and that leads to reduced blood-feeding success. These behavioural changes require further investigation with respect to a possible physiological mechanism and their role in vectorial capacity of the insect. The selective decrease of feeding success in older mosquitoes may act synergistically with other Wolbachia-associated traits including life-shortening and viral protection in biocontrol strategies.
Highlights
A number of the major mosquito vectors of disease, including the various anopheline species that transmit malaria and Aedes aegypti that transmits dengue and other arboviruses, do not naturally carry the common insect endosymbiont Wolbachia pipientis
A. aegypti were transinfected with this Wolbachia strain with the aim of developing a novel biocontrol strategy based on reducing mosquito lifespan in the field
Because only old mosquitoes are capable of transmitting dengue virus, the Wolbachia infection could theoretically reduce dengue virus transmission if infected mosquitoes were released into the wild
Summary
A number of the major mosquito vectors of disease, including the various anopheline species that transmit malaria and Aedes aegypti that transmits dengue and other arboviruses, do not naturally carry the common insect endosymbiont Wolbachia pipientis. The wMelPop infection demonstrated a range of effects on its non-natural host including the predicted and sought after phenotypes of cytoplasmic incompatibility and life-shortening [1] The former phenotype is common to most insect-Wolbachia associations and is predicted to serve as a driving mechanism for spread of Wolbachia infections in the field [5]. The wMelPop-infected mosquitoes exhibit increased daytime locomotor activity and metabolic rates [6] These two Wolbachia-associated effects suggest physiological differences between infected and uninfected insects that could affect complex behaviour like mate seeking and foraging. The mosquito Aedes aegypti was recently transinfected with a life-shortening strain of the endosymbiont Wolbachia pipientis (wMelPop) as the first step in developing a biocontrol strategy for dengue virus transmission. We sought to quantify the blood-feeding behaviour of Wolbachia-infected females as an indicator of any virulence or energetic drain associated with Wolbachia infection
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