Wolbachia strain wAlbB maintains high density and dengue inhibition following introduction into a field population of Aedes aegypti

Ahmad, N. A., Mancini, M.-V., Ant, T. H., Martinez, J. , Kamarul, G. M.R., Nazni, W. A., Hoffmann, A. A. and Sinkins, S. P. (2021) Wolbachia strain wAlbB maintains high density and dengue inhibition following introduction into a field population of Aedes aegypti. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 376(1818), 20190809. (doi: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0809) (PMID:33357050) (PMCID:PMC7776933)

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Abstract

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes carrying the wAlbB Wolbachia strain show a reduced capacity to transmit dengue virus. wAlbB has been introduced into wild Ae. aegypti populations in several field sites in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where it has persisted at high frequency for more than 2 years and significantly reduced dengue incidence. Although these encouraging results indicate that wAlbB releases can be an effective dengue control strategy, the long-term success depends on wAlbB maintaining high population frequencies and virus transmission inhibition, and both could be compromised by Wolbachia–host coevolution in the field. Here, wAlbB-carrying Ae. aegypti collected from the field 20 months after the cessation of releases showed no reduction in Wolbachia density or tissue distribution changes compared to a wAlbB laboratory colony. The wAlbB strain continued to induce complete unidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility, showed perfect maternal transmission under laboratory conditions, and retained its capacity to inhibit dengue. Additionally, a field-collected wAlbB line was challenged with Malaysian dengue patient blood, and showed significant blocking of virus dissemination to the salivary glands. These results indicate that wAlbB continues to inhibit currently circulating strains of dengue in field populations of Ae. aegypti, and provides additional support for the continued scale-up of Wolbachia wAlbB releases for dengue control.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Sinkins, Professor Steven and Ant, Dr Thomas and Martinez, Dr Julien
Authors: Ahmad, N. A., Mancini, M.-V., Ant, T. H., Martinez, J., Kamarul, G. M.R., Nazni, W. A., Hoffmann, A. A., and Sinkins, S. P.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity
College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity > Centre for Virus Research
Journal Name:Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Publisher:The Royal Society
ISSN:0962-8436
ISSN (Online):1471-2970
Published Online:28 December 2020
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2020 The Authors
First Published:First published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 376(1818): 20190809
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License
Data DOI:10.5525/gla.researchdata.1044

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Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
174018Wolbachia-based control of virus transmission by the mosquito Aedes albopictusSteven SinkinsWellcome Trust (WELLCOTR)108508/Z/15/ZIII-MRC-GU Centre for Virus Research
173477Wolbachia-mediated arbovirus inhibition in mosquitoesSteven SinkinsWellcome Trust (WELLCOTR)202888/Z/16/ZIII-MRC-GU Centre for Virus Research