Keywords: pathogen blocking

An economic evaluation of Wolbachia deployments for dengue control in Vietnam

H. C. Turner, D. L. Quyen, R. Dias, P. T. Huong, C. P. Simmons and K. L. Anders,  PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases,  17:e0011356. 2023.
INTRODUCTION: Dengue is a major public health challenge and a growing problem due to climate change. The release of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with the intracellular bacterium Wolbachia is a novel form of vector control against dengue. However, there remains a need to ...
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Investigating Wolbachia symbiont-mediated host protection against a bacterial pathogen using a natural Wolbachia nuclear insert

C. Prigot-Maurice, B. Lheraud, S. Guéritault, S. Beltran-Bech, R. Cordaux, J. Peccoud and C. Braquart-Varnier,  Journal of Invertebrate Pathology,  197:107893. 2023.
Wolbachia bacterial endosymbionts provide protection against pathogens in various arthropod species but the underlying mechanisms remain misunderstood. By using a natural Wolbachia nuclear insert (f-element) in the isopod Armadillidium vulgare, we explored whether Wolbachia ...
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Developing Wolbachia-based disease interventions for an extreme environment

P. A. Ross, S. Elfekih, S. Collier, M. J. Klein, S. S. Lee, M. Dunn, S. Jackson, Y. Zhang, J. K. Axford, X. Gu, J. L. Home, M. S. Nassar, P. N. Paradkar, E. A. Tawfik, F. M. Jiggins, A. M. Almalik, M. B. Al-Fageeh and A. A. Hoffmann,  PLoS Pathogens,  19:e1011117. 2023.
Aedes aegypti mosquitoes carrying self-spreading, virus-blocking Wolbachia bacteria are being deployed to suppress dengue transmission. However, there are challenges in applying this technology in extreme environments. We introduced two Wolbachia strains into Ae. aegypti from ...
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Tolerance-conferring defensive symbionts and the evolution of parasite virulence

C. A. Smith and B. Ashby,  bioRxiv,  2022.
Defensive symbionts in the host microbiome can confer protection from infection or reduce the harms of being infected by a parasite. Defensive symbionts are therefore promising agents of biocontrol that could be used to control or ameliorate the impact of infectious diseases. ...
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Wolbachia wPip Blocks Zika Virus Transovarial Transmission in Aedes albopictus

Y. Guo, J. Guo, Y. Li, X. Zheng and Y. Wu,  Microbiol Spectrum,  e0263321. 2022.
Area-wide application of Wolbachia to suppress mosquito populations and their transmitted viruses has achieved success in multiple countries. However, the mass release of Wolbachia-infected male mosquitoes involves a potential risk of accidentally releasing fertile females. In ...
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Developing Wolbachia-based disease interventions for an extreme environment

P. A. Ross, S. Elfekih, S. Collier, M. J. Klein, S. S. Lee, M. Dunn, S. Jackson, Y. Zhang, J. K. Axford, X. Gu, M. S. Nasar, P. N. Paradkar, E. A. Taoufik, F. M. Jiggins, A. M. Almalik, M. B. Al-Fageeh and A. A. Hoffmann,  bioRxiv,  2022.07.26.501527. 2022.
Aedes aegypti mosquitoes carrying self-spreading, virus-blocking Wolbachia bacteria are being deployed to suppress dengue transmission. However, there are challenges in applying this technology in extreme environments. We introduced two Wolbachia strains into Ae. aegypti from ...
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Attempts to use breeding approaches in Aedes aegypti to create lines with distinct and stable relative Wolbachia densities

A. J. Mejia, L. Jimenez, H. L. C. Dutra, R. Perera and E. A. McGraw,  Heredity,  2022.
Wolbachia is an insect endosymbiont being used for biological control in the mosquito Aedes aegypti because it causes cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) and limits viral replication of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses. While the genetic mechanism of pathogen blocking (PB) is ...
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