Abstract
BackgroundWolbachia is a maternally transmitted intracellular bacterium that is estimated to infect up to 65% of insect species, but it is not naturally present in Anopheles malaria vectors. Wolbachia-based strategies for malaria vector control can be developed either through population replacement to reduce vectorial capacity or through population suppression to reduce the mosquito population. We have previously generated An. stephensi mosquitoes carrying a stable wAlbB Wolbachia infection and have demonstrated their ability to invade wild-type laboratory populations and confer resistance to Plasmodium on these populations.MethodsWe assessed wAlbB-associated fitness by comparing the female fecundity, immature development and survivorship, body size, male mating competiveness, and adult longevity of the infected An. stephensi to that of wild-type mosquitoes.ResultsWe found that wAlbB reduced female fecundity and caused a minor decrease in male mating competiveness. We also observed that wAlbB increased the life span of both male and female mosquitoes when they were maintained solely on sugar meals; however, there was no impact on the life span of blood-fed females. In addition, wAlbB did not influence either immature development and survivorship or adult body sizes.ConclusionsThese results provide significant support for developing Wolbachia-based strategies for malaria vector control.
Highlights
Wolbachia is a maternally transmitted intracellular bacterium that is estimated to infect up to 65% of insect species, but it is not naturally present in Anopheles malaria vectors
Our results have shown that wAlbB induces both a fitness cost and benefits in An. stephensi under laboratory conditions
All the data we have accumulated for LB1 males, including their strong mating competitiveness, increased life span when taking sugar meals, and ability to induce nearly complete cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), support the feasibility of a population suppression/ eradication strategy
Summary
Wolbachia is a maternally transmitted intracellular bacterium that is estimated to infect up to 65% of insect species, but it is not naturally present in Anopheles malaria vectors. Wolbachia is a maternally transmitted intracellular bacterium that infects an estimated 65% of insect species [1,2] and 28% of mosquito species [3] With such a broad host range, Wolbachia does not naturally infect the Anopheles malaria vectors or the primary dengue vector, Aedes aegypti. As a symbiotic bacterium of insects, Wolbachia can manipulate host reproduction in a number of “selfish” ways [2], resulting in its own spread into a population Among these manipulations, cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) is the most common and is the only phenotype observed in mosquitoes [4]. An infected female can produce infected, viable offspring when she mates
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