Keywords: Wolbachia
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Bunyamwera Virus Infection of Wolbachia-Carrying Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes Reduces Wolbachia DensityLefteri, D.A.; Rainey, S.M.; Murdochy, S.M.; Sinkins, S.P., Viruses, 16. 2024.
Wolbachia symbionts introduced into Aedes mosquitoes provide a highly effective dengue virus transmission control strategy, increasingly utilised in many countries in an attempt to reduce disease burden. Whilst highly effective against dengue and other positive-sense RNA viruses, ... |
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Excess Lipids Keep Dengue at BayShelby Bradford, The Scientist, 2024.
The Aedes aegypti mosquito can transmit dengue virus; however, infection with endosymbiotic bacteria from the Wolbachia genus reduces viral transmission from these insects. Consequently, Wolbachia-infected mosquitos are one biocontrol agent used in areas with endemic dengue ... |
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A comprehensive review of Wolbachia-mediated mechanisms to control dengue virus transmission in Aedes aegypti through innate immune pathwaysIqra Mushtaq, Muhammad Sajjad Sarwar, Iqra Munzoor, Viral Immunology, 15. 2024.
The Dengue virus (DENV), primarily spread by Aedes aegypti and also by Aedes albopictus in some regions, poses significant global health risks. Alternative techniques are urgently needed because the current control mechanisms are insufficient to reduce the transmission of DENV. ... |
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Genetically Modified Wolbachia mosquitoes help reduce virus transmissionPrecision Vaccinations, 2024.
Every year on World Mosquito Day, diseases spread by mosquitoes, which account for over 17% of all infectious diseases and lead to more than 700,000 deaths annually, are highlighted. Parasites, bacteria, or viruses can cause these diseases, including chikungunya, malaria, dengue, ... |
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Comparative analysis of Wolbachia maternal transmission and localization in host ovariesHague, M.T.J., Wheeler, T.B. and Cooper, B.S., Communications Biology, 7. 2024.
Many insects and other animals carry microbial endosymbionts that influence their reproduction and fitness. These relationships only persist if endosymbionts are reliably transmitted from one host generation to the next. Wolbachia are maternally transmitted endosymbionts found in ... |
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Mosquitoes On The Run Due To Wolbachia Programmes.Anonymous, St Kitts and Nevis Observer, 2024.
Dengue is becoming an increasingly common disease in Central America and the Caribbean, according to PAHO, even as deaths from the mosquito-born condition have fallen in recent years due to improved identification of the condition and medical care. However the World Mosquito ... |
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Incompatible insect technique: insights on potential outcomes of releasing contaminant females: a proof of concept under semi-field conditionsGiulia Lombardi, Elena Lampazzi, Maurizio Calvitti, Pest Management Science, 2024.
Releasing large numbers of Aedes albopictus males, carrying the artificially introduced Wolbachia ‘wPip’ strain, results in a decrease in the reproductive capacity of wild females due to a phenomenon known as cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). This vector control strategy ... |
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Wolbachia endosymbionts in Drosophila regulate the resistance to Zika virus infection in a sex dependent mannerGhada Tafesh-Edwards, Margarita Kyza Karaviot, Klea Markollari, et al, Frontiers in Microbiology, 15. 2024.
Drosophila melanogaster has been used extensively for dissecting the genetic and functional bases of host innate antiviral immunity and virus-induced pathology. Previous studies have shown that the presence of Wolbachia endosymbionts in D. melanogaster confers resistance to ... |
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Culex-Transmitted Diseases: Mechanisms, Impact, and Future Control Strategies using WolbachiaMadhav, M.; Blasdell, K.R.; Trewin, B.; Paradkar, P.N.; López-Denman, A.J., Viruses, 16:1134. 2024.
Mosquitoes of the Culex genus are responsible for a large burden of zoonotic virus transmission globally. Collectively, they play a significant role in the transmission of medically significant diseases such as Japanese encephalitis virus and West Nile virus. Climate change, ... |
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Revisiting Wolbachia detections: Old and new issues in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and other insectsPerran A. Ross, Ary A. Hoffmann, Ecology and Evolution, 14. 2024.
Wolbachia continue to be reported in species previously thought to lack them, particularly Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The presence of Wolbachia in this arbovirus vector is considered important because releases of mosquitoes with transinfected Wolbachia are being used around the ... |
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Economic optimization of Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti release to prevent dengueBrandon D. Hollingsworth, Chanheung Cho, Michael Vella, Hyeongyul Roh, Julian Sass, Alun L. Lloyd, Zachary S. Brown, Pest Management Science, 80:3829-3838. 2024.
Dengue virus, primarily transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, is a major public health concern affecting ≈3.83 billion people worldwide. Recent releases of Wolbachia-transinfected Ae. aegypti in several cities worldwide have shown that it can reduce dengue ... |
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Simulation-based economic evaluation of the Wolbachia method in Brazil: a cost-effective strategy for dengue controlIvan Ricardo Zimmermann, Ricardo Ribeiro Alves Fernandes, Márcia Gisele Santos da Costa, et al, The Lancet Regional Health - Americas, 35. 2024.
Dengue virus (DENV) is an arbovirus transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which can cause severe conditions such as hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome. These conditions are associated with adverse social, clinical, and economic consequences in Brazil. Herein, the ... |
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Wolbachia infection-responsive immune genes suppress Plasmodium falciparum infection in Anopheles stephensiVandana V, Dong S, Sheth T, Sun Q, Wen H, Maldonado A, et al., PLoS Pathogens, 20. 2024.
Wolbachia, a maternally transmitted symbiotic bacterium of insects, can suppress a variety of human pathogens in mosquitoes, including malaria-causing Plasmodium in the Anopheles vector. However, the mechanistic basis of Wolbachia-mediated Plasmodium suppression in mosquitoes is ... |
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Comparing the long-term persistence of different Wolbachia strains after the release of bacteria-carrying mosquitoesJose L. Orozco-Gonzales, Antone dos Santos Benedito, Daiver Cardona-Salgado et al., Mathematical Biosciences, 372. 2024.
This paper proposes a bidimensional modeling framework for Wolbachia invasion, assuming imperfect maternal transmission, incomplete cytoplasmic incompatibility, and direct infection loss due to thermal stress. Our model adapts to various Wolbachia strains and retains all ... |
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Bacteria found in mosquito guts could help scientists fight dengue, ZikaCatherine Offord, Science, 2024.
A team in China probing the guts of local mosquitoes has found a potential helper in the fight against two human diseases. Researchers identified a new bacterium that disables the viruses responsible for dengue and Zika before they can establish an infection in the insects. ... |
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Economic optimization of Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti release to prevent dengueHollingsworth BD, Cho C, Vella M, Roh H, Sass J, Lloyd AL, Brown ZS., Pest Management Science, 2024.
Dengue virus, primarily transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, is a major public health concern affecting ≈3.83 billion people worldwide. Recent releases of Wolbachia-transinfected Ae. aegypti in several cities worldwide have shown that it can reduce dengue transmission. ... |
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Wolbachia Infection through Hybridization to Enhance an Incompatible Insect Technique-Based Suppression of Aedes albopictus in Eastern SpainCholvi, M.; Trelis, M.; Bueno-Marí, R.; Khoubbane, M.; Gil, R.; Marcilla, A.; Moretti, R., Insects, 15:206. 2024.
The emergence of insecticide resistance in arbovirus vectors is putting the focus on the development of new strategies for control. In this regard, the exploitation of Wolbachia endosymbionts is receiving increasing attention due to its demonstrated effectiveness in reducing the ... |
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Wolbachia Infection through Hybridization to Enhance an Incompatible Insect Technique-Based Suppression of Aedes albopictus in Eastern SpainCholvi M, Trelis M, Bueno-Marí R, Khoubbane M, Gil R, Marcilla A, Moretti R., Insects, 15. 2024.
Wolbachia bacteria occur naturally as symbionts of many insect species and are responsible for various phenomena that modify the hosts’ reproductive biology. Among them, cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) refers to the sterility of eggs produced by crosses between infected males ... |
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Detection and quantification of natural Wolbachia in Aedes aegypti in Metropolitan Manila, Philippines using locally designed primersReyes JIL, Suzuki T, Suzuki Y, Watanabe K., Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 2024.
The Philippines bears health and economic burden caused by high dengue cases annually. Presently, the Philippines still lack an effective and sustainable vector management. The use of Wolbachia, a maternally transmitted bacterium, that mitigate arbovirus transmission has been ... |
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Monitoring Aedes populations for arboviruses, Wolbachia, insecticide resistance and its mechanisms in various agroecosystems in BeninS. Ateutchia-Ngouanet, F. Nanfack-Minkeu, K. Mavridis, S. Wanji, M. Demanou, J. Vontas, R. Djouaka, Acta Tropica, 253. 2024.
The susceptibility of arbovirus vectors to insecticides and the microbiome of Aedes species are understudied in Benin. |
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The Wolbachia WalE1 effector alters Drosophila endocytosisMaryAnn Martin,Sergio López-Madrigal,Irene L. G. Newton, PLoS Pathogens, 20. 2024.
The most common intracellular bacterial infection is Wolbachia pipientis. |
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Wolbachia infection negatively impacts Drosophila simulans heat tolerance in a strain- and trait-specific mannerLiam F. Ferguson, Perran A. Ross, Belinda van Heerwaarden, Environmental Microbiology, 26. 2024.
The susceptibility of insects to rising temperatures has largely been measured by their ability to survive thermal extremes. |
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Researchers reveal how a virus hijacks insect sperm: May help control disease vectors and pestsPennsylvania State University, Phys.org, 2024.
A new study led by researchers at Penn State has uncovered how a widespread bacteria called Wolbachia and a virus that it carries can cause sterility in male insects by hijacking their sperm. |
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Wolbachia strain wAlbB shows favourable characteristics for dengue control use in Aedes aegypti from Burkina FasoMaria Vittoria Mancini, Shivan M. Murdochy, Etienne Bilgo, Thomas H. Ant, Daniel Gingell, Edounou Jacques Gnambani, Anna-Bella Failloux, Abdoulaye Diabate, Steven P. Sinkins, Environmental Microbiology, 26. 2024.
Dengue represents an increasing public health burden worldwide. |
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Alpha-mannosidase-2 modulates arbovirus infection in a pathogen- and Wolbachia-specific manner in Aedes aegypti mosquitoesNadya Urakova, Renuka E. Joseph, Allyn Huntsinger, Vanessa M. Macias, Matthew J. Jones, Leah T. Sigle, Ming Li, Omar S. Akbari, Zhiyong Xi, Konstantinos Lymperopoulos, Richard T. Sayre, Elizabeth A. McGraw, Jason L. Rasgon, Insect Molecular Biology, 2024.
Multiple Wolbachia strains can block pathogen infection, replication and/or transmission in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes under both laboratory and field conditions. |
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Prophage proteins alter long noncoding RNA and DNA of developing sperm to induce a paternal-effect lethalityRupinder Kaur et al., Science, 383:1111-1117. 2024.
Many arthropods carry symbiotic bacteria. Some, including Wolbachia strains, have the capacity to cause male sterility. |
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Comparative analysis of Wolbachia maternal transmission and localization in host ovariesMichael T.J. Hague, Timothy B. Wheeler, Brandon S. Cooper, bioRxiv, 2024.
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Acceptability of emergent Aedes aegypti vector control methods in Ponce, Puerto Rico: A qualitative assessmentPérez-Guerra CL, Rosado-Santiago C, Ramos SA, Marrero-Santos KM, González-Zeno G, Partridge SK, et al., PLoS Global Public Health, 2024.
Aedes aegypti control has been fraught with challenges in Puerto Rico. The government has implemented commonly used vector control methods, but arboviral epidemics still occur. It is necessary to explore new Ae. aegypti control methods. This study aimed to understand the ... |
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Efficacy of Wolbachia-based mosquito control: Predictions of a spatially discrete mathematical modelDavid Dye, John W. Cain, PLoS One, 19. 2024.
Wolbachia is an endosymbiont bacterium present in many insect species. When Wolbachia-carrying male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes mate with non-carrier females, their embryos are not viable due to cytoplasmic incompatibility. This phenomenon has been exploited successfully for the ... |
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Aedes aegypti Controls Ae. aegypti: SIT and IIT—An OverviewRobert L. Aldridge; Seth Gibson; Kenneth J. Linthicum, Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association, 20:32-49. 2024.
The sterile insect technique (SIT) and the incompatible insect technique (IIT) are emerging and potentially revolutionary tools for controlling Aedes aegypti (L.), a prominent worldwide mosquito vector threat to humans that is notoriously difficult to reduce or eliminate in ... |
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DENV-1 Titer Impacts Viral Blocking in wMel Aedes aegypti with Brazilian Genetic BackgroundCorrêa-Antônio, Jessica, Mariana R. David, Dinair Couto-Lima, Gabriela Azambuja Garcia, Milan S. G. Keirsebelik, Rafael Maciel-de-Freitas, and Márcio Galvão Pavan., Viruses, 16. 2024.
Several countries have been using Wolbachia deployments to replace highly competent native Aedes aegypti populations with Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes with lower susceptibility to arboviruses such as dengue, Zika, and chikungunya. In Rio de Janeiro, Wolbachia deployments started ... |
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PSRs: Selfish chromosomes that manipulate reproductive developmentXinmi Zhang, Patrick M. Ferree, Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology, 159-160:66-73. 2024.
B chromosomes are intriguing “selfish” genetic elements, many of which exhibit higher-than-Mendelian transmission. This perspective highlights a group of B chromosomes known as Paternal Sex Ratio chromosomes (PSRs), which are found in several insects with haplo-diploid ... |
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Taking the fight against disease to mosquitoesGregory Devine, Setopati, 2024.
In the medium term it's likely that suppression strategies involving self-limiting genetic modifications, Wolbachia infection and irradiation will be extended to a small number of our most important mosquito vectors of disease. |
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Efficacy of Wolbachia-mediated sterility to reduce the incidence of dengue: a synthetic control study in SingaporeJue Tao Lim, Somya Bansal*, Chee Seng Chong*, Borame Dickens, Youming Ng, Lu Deng, Caleb Lee, Li Yun Tan, Grace Chain, Pei Ma, Shuzhen Sim, Cheong Huat Tan, Alex R Cook, Lee Ching Ng, The Lancet Microbe, 2024.
Our study comprised an at-risk population of 607 872 individuals living in intervention sites and 3 894 544 individuals living in control sites. Interventions demonstrated up to 77·28% (121/156, 95% CI 75·81–78·58) intervention efficacy despite incomplete coverage ... |
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Introduction of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes carrying wAlbB Wolbachia sharply decreases dengue incidence in disease hotspotsAA Hoffmann, NW Ahmad, WM Keong, CY Ling, NA Ahmad, N. Golding, N. Tierney, J. Jelip, PW Putit, N Mohktar, SS Sandhu, LS Ming, et al., iScience, 2024.
Partial replacement of resident Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with introduced mosquitoes carrying certain strains of inherited Wolbachia symbionts can result in transmission blocking of dengue and other viruses of public health importance. Wolbachia strain wAlbB is an effective ... |
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Judge sides with Hawaii to block challenge to mosquito release planCandice Cheung, Courthouse News Service, 2024.
A planned program to save endemic Hawaiian birds from avian malaria by releasing thousands of biopesticide mosquitoes into Maui’s rainforest will go on, despite an attempt by an environmental nonprofit to block the project.First Circuit Court Judge John Tonaki ruled Tuesday ... |
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South American cities release mosquitoes to stem diseaseRoberto González, SciDev.Net, 2024.
When Waldeir Barbosa da Silva explained to his family that he was going to release hundreds of thousands of mosquitoes into the open, infected with a bacterium, they were surprised. In Niterói, southeast Brazil, where da Silva lives, diseases spread by mosquitoes, such as ... |
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Intra-lineage microevolution of Wolbachia leads to the emergence of new cytoplasmic incompatibility patternsNamias A, Ngaku A, Makoundou P, Unal S, Sicard M, Weill M, PLoS Biology, 2024.
Mosquitoes of the Culex pipiens complex are worldwide vectors of arbovirus, filarial nematodes, and avian malaria agents. In these hosts, the endosymbiotic bacteria Wolbachia induce cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), i.e., reduced embryo viability in so-called incompatible ... |
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Evidence of Differences in Cellular Regulation of Wolbachia-Mediated Viral Inhibition between Alphaviruses and FlavivirusesRainey SM, Lefteri DA, Darby C, Kohl A, Merits A, Sinkins SP., Viruses, 16(1):115. 2024.
The intracellular bacterium Wolbachia is increasingly being utilised in control programs to limit the spread of arboviruses by Aedes mosquitoes. Achieving a better understanding of how Wolbachia strains can reduce viral replication/spread could be important for the long-term ... |
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The epidemiology of imported and locally-acquired dengue in Australia, 2012–2022Asma Sohail, Katherine L Anders, Sarah L McGuinness, Karin Leder, Journal of Travel Medicine, 2024.
Dengue is the most important arboviral disease globally, and poses ongoing challenges for control including in non-endemic countries with competent mosquito vectors at risk of local transmission through imported cases. We examined recent epidemiological trends in imported and ... |
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Wolbachia still works when it is warmMcKay, A., Nature Ecology and Evolution, 8. 2024.
Wolbachia is a maternally inherited endosymbiotic bacterium that can impede the transmission of viruses such as dengue and Zika by some mosquito vectors to humans. Over the past decade, this self-sustaining disease-control method has been rolled out in cities of increasing size; ... |
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Limited association between Wolbachia and Plasmodium falciparum infections in natural populations of the major malaria mosquito Anopheles mouchetiThéo Mouillaud, Audric Berger, Marie Buysse, Nil Rahola, Josquin Daron, Jean-Pierre Agbor, Sandrine N. Sango, Daniel E. Neafsey, Olivier Duron, Diego Ayala, Evolutionary Applications, 16:1999-2006. 2024.
Since the discovery of natural malaria vector populations infected by the endosymbiont bacterium Wolbachia, a renewed interest has arisen for using this bacterium as an alternative for malaria control. Among naturally infected mosquitoes, Anopheles moucheti, a major malaria ... |
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Antiviral Wolbachia strains associate with Aedes aegypti endoplasmic reticulum membranes and induce lipid droplet formation to restrict dengue virus replicationRobson K. Loterio, Ebony A. Monson, Rachel Templin, Jyotika T. de Bruyne, Heather A. Flores, Jason M. Mackenzie, Georg Ramm, Karla J. Helbig, Cameron P. Simmons, Johanna E. Fraser, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2023.
Wolbachia are a genus of insect endosymbiotic bacteria which includes strains wMel and wAlbB that are being utilized as a biocontrol tool to reduce the incidence of Aedes aegypti-transmitted viral diseases like dengue. However, the precise mechanisms underpinning the antiviral ... |
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Wolbachia infection negatively impacts Drosophila simulans heat tolerance in a strain- and trait-specific mannerLiam F Ferguson, Perran A Ross, Belinda van Heerwaarden, bioRxiv, 2023.
The susceptibility of insects to rising temperatures has largely been measured by their ability to survive thermal extremes. However, until recently, the capacity for maternally inherited endosymbionts to influence insect heat tolerance has been overlooked. Further, the impact of ... |
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Rapid turnover of pathogen-blocking Wolbachia and their incompatibility lociShropshire JD, Conner WR, Vanderpool D, Hoffmann AA, Turelli M, Cooper BS., bioRxiv, 2023.
At least half of all insect species carry maternally inherited Wolbachia alphaproteobacteria, making Wolbachia the most common endosymbionts in nature. Wolbachia spread to high frequencies is often due to cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), a Wolbachia -induced sperm modification ... |
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Procesos celulares modificados en Aedes aegypti infectados con Wolbachia y la susceptibilidad al virus dengueLópez-Ordóñez T, Díaz-Rodarte KI, Torres-Monzón JA, Casas-Martínez M, Danis-Lozano R, Mosso-González C., Salud Pública de México, 2023.
Objetivo: Analizar la expresión diferencial de proteínas de Aedes aegypti infectados con Wolbachia y su asociación con el ciclo viral del virus dengue (DENV). Material y métodos. Se revisó una base de datos de proteínas de Ae. aegypti infec-tados y no infectados con ... |
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The effect of migration on transmission of Wolbachia in Nilaparvata lugensZhigang Liu, Tiejun Zhou, Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering, 20. 2023.
Brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens, which can transmit rice ragged stunt virus, is a serious and damaging pest to rice plants. Rice plants can protect themselves from the associated diseases of N.lugens by either suppressing or replacing N.lugens by releasing N.lugens infected ... |
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Rapid turnover of pathogen-blocking Wolbachia and their incompatibility lociDylan Shropshire, William R. Conner, Daniel Vanderpool, Ary A. Hoffmann, Michael Turelli, Brandon S. Cooper, bioRxiv, 2023.
At least half of all insect species carry maternally inherited Wolbachia alphaproteobacteria, making Wolbachia the most common endosymbionts in nature. Wolbachia spread to high frequencies is often due to cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), a Wolbachia-induced sperm modification ... |
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Reduced dengue incidence following city-wide wMel Wolbachia mosquito releases throughout three Colombian cities: Interrupted time series analysis and a prospective case-control studyVelez ID, Tanamas SK, Arbelaez MP, Kutcher SC, Duque SL, Uribe A, et al., PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2023.
The introduction of Wolbachia (wMel strain) into Aedes aegypti mosquitoes reduces their capacity to transmit dengue and other arboviruses. Randomised and non-randomised studies in multiple countries have shown significant reductions in dengue incidence following field ... |
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Large-scale releases and establishment of wMel Wolbachia in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes throughout the Cities of Bello, Medellín and Itagüí, ColombiaVelez ID, Uribe A, Barajas J, Uribe S, Ángel S, Suaza-Vasco JD, et al., PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2023.
The wMel strain of Wolbachia has been successfully introduced into Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and has been shown to reduce the transmission of dengue and other Aedes-borne viruses. Here we report the entomological results from phased, large-scale releases ... |
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Modelling and analysis of periodic impulsive releases of the Nilaparvata lugens infected with wStri-WolbachiaXiangjun Dai, Qi Quan and Jianjun Jiao, Journal of Biological Dynamics, 17:1. 2023.
In this paper, we formulate a population suppression model and a population replacement model with periodic impulsive releases of Nilaparvata lugens infected with wStri. The conditions for the stability of wild-N.lugens -eradication periodic solution of two systems are obtained ... |
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Wolbachia Transinfection Via Embryonic MicroinjectionZhang, M., Xi, Z., Methods in Molecular Biology, 2739. 2023.
The process of transferring Wolbachia from one species to another to establish a stable, maternally inherited infection in the target species is known as transinfection. The success of transinfection is primarily achieved through embryonic microinjection, which is the most direct ... |
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Measuring Host Fitness Effects and Transmission of Wolbachia Strains in Aedes aegypti MosquitoesRoss, P.A., Methods in Molecular Biology, 2739. 2023.
Lines of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with heritable Wolbachia bacteria are being developed and released for arbovirus control. Coordinated releases of lab-reared Wolbachia mosquitoes have reduced local disease incidence by spreading virus-blocking Wolbachia strains and by ... |
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Procedures for the Detection of Wolbachia-Conferred Antiviral Protection in Drosophila melanogasterChrostek, E., Methods in Molecular Biology, 2739. 2023.
Spread of Wolbachia infections in host populations may be enhanced by Wolbachia-conferred protection from viral pathogens. Wolbachia-infected Drosophila melanogaster survive the pathogenic effects of positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus infections at a higher rate than the ... |
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Use of Drosophila Transgenics to Identify Functions for Symbiont EffectorsCortez, C.T., Murphy, R.O., Owens, I.M., Beckmann, J.F., Methods in Molecular Biology, 2739. 2023.
Wolbachia, one of the most successful and studied insect symbionts, and Drosophila, one of the most understood model insects, can be exploited as complementary tools to unravel mechanisms of insect symbiosis. Although Wolbachia itself cannot be grown axenically as clonal isolates ... |
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Different mechanisms of X-ray irradiation-induced male and female sterility in Aedes aegyptiZhang, H., Trueman, E., Hou, X. et al., BMC Biology, 21. 2023.
Aedes aegypti (Ae. aegypti) is the major vector that transmits many diseases including dengue, Zika, and filariasis in tropical and subtropical regions. Due to the growing resistance to chemical-based insecticides, biological control methods have become an emerging direction to ... |
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Symbiotic Wolbachia in mosquitoes and its role in reducing the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases: updates and prospectsA. Minwuyelet, G. P. Petronio, D. Yewhalaw, A. Sciarretta, I. Magnifico, D. Nicolosi, R. Di Marco and G. Atenafu, Frontiers in Microbiology, 14. 2023.
Mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, West Nile virus, chikungunya, Zika fever, and filariasis have the greatest health and economic impact. These mosquito-borne diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in tropical and sub-tropical areas. Due to the ... |
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Success of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes in fighting dengue may be underestimatedB. Wampler, Notre Dame News, 2023.
Now, researchers at the University of Notre Dame have conducted an analysis of the World Mosquito Program’s randomized control trial of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes in Indonesia, looking at how excluding transmission dynamics impacted the original interpretation of the ... |
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Dengue rates drop after release of modified mosquitoes in ColombiaM. Lenharo, Nature, 2023.
Three cities in Colombia saw a dramatic fall in the incidence of dengue in the years following the introduction of mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia, a bacterium that prevents the insect from transmitting viruses. In neighbourhoods where the Wolbachia mosquitoes were well ... |
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Wolbachia endosymbionts manipulate the self-renewal and differentiation of germline stem cells to reinforce fertility of their fruit fly hostS. L. Russell, J. R. Castillo and W. T. Sullivan, PLOS Biology, 21:e3002335. 2023.
The alphaproteobacterium Wolbachia pipientis infects arthropod and nematode species worldwide, making it a key target for host biological control. Wolbachia-driven host reproductive manipulations, such as cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), are credited for catapulting these ... |
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How mosquito-controlling bacteria might also enhance insect fertilityPublic Library of Science, Phys Org, 2023.
A new study reveals biological mechanisms by which a specific strain of bacteria in the Wolbachia genus might enhance the fertility of the insects it infects—with potentially important implications for mosquito-control strategies. Shelbi Russell of the University of California ... |
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Wolbachia infection at least partially rescues the fertility and ovary defects of several new Drosophila melanogaster bag of marbles protein-coding mutantsM. Wenzel and C. F. Aquadro, PLOS Genetics, 19:e1011009. 2023.
Author summary Reproduction in the Drosophila melanogaster fruit fly is dependent on the bag of marbles (bam) gene, which acts early in the process of generating eggs and sperm. Mutations to this gene negatively impact the fertility of the fly, causing it to be sterile or have ... |
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Symbiotic Wolbachia in mosquitoes and its role in reducing the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases: updates and prospectsAwoke Minwuyelet, Giulio Petronio Petronio, Delenasaw Yewhalaw, Andrea Sciarretta, Irene Magnifico, Daria Nicolosi, Roberto Di Marco, Getnet Atenafu,, Frontiers in Microbiology, 14. 2023.
Mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, West Nile virus, chikungunya, Zika fever, and filariasis have the greatest health and economic impact. These mosquito-borne diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in tropical and sub-tropical areas. Due to the ... |
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Wolbachia enhances the survival ofDrosophila infected with fungal pathogensJ. Perlmutter, I., A. Atadurdyyeva, M. Schedl, E. and R. Unckless, L., bioRxiv, 2023.09.30.560320. 2023.
Wolbachia bacteria of arthropods are at the forefront of basic and translational research on multipartite host-symbiont-pathogen interactions. These microbes are vertically inherited from mother to offspring via the cytoplasm. They are the most widespread endosymbionts on the ... |
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Wolbachia interferes with Zika virus replication by hijacking cholesterol metabolism in mosquito cellsB. Edwards, E. A.-O. X. Ghedin and D. A.-O. Voronin, Microbiology Spectrum, 2023.
Zika virus is a member of the arbovirus Flaviviridae family transmitted by Aedes mosquitos and it is associated with microcephaly in infants born to infected mothers. Wolbachia is an intracellular gram-negative alpha-proteobacteria that infects many species of arthropods, ... |
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Millions of Mosquitoes Will Rain Down on Hawaii to Save an Iconic BirdS. Wild, Scientific American, 2023.
Millions of mosquitoes dropped from helicopters could be the greatest hope for Hawaii’s iconic honeycreepers. At least four species of the brightly colored birds could go extinct within the year if no action is taken to save them. “We’re seriously in a race against time at ... |
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The double-edged sword effect of expanding Wolbachia deployment in dengue endemic settingsM. G. Pavan, G. A. Garcia, M. R. David and R. Maciel-de-Freitas, The Lancet Regional Health - Americas, 27:100610. 2023.
We can use Brazil as a showcase to foresee and avoid a double-edged sword effect associated with Wolbachia releases. Insecticide resistance of native Ae. aegypti populations is spread worldwide (http://aedes.irmapper.com), and positive results should boost Wolbachia deployment in ... |
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Wolbachia-mediated resistance to Zika virus infection in Aedes aegypti is dominated by diverse transcriptional regulation and weak evolutionary pressuresE. C. Boehm, A. S. Jaeger, H. J. Ries, D. Castañeda, A. M. Weiler, C. C. Valencia, J. Weger-Lucarelli, G. D. Ebel, S. L. O’Connor, T. C. Friedrich, M. Zamanian and M. T. Aliota, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 17:e0011674. 2023.
A promising candidate for arbovirus control and prevention relies on replacing arbovirus-susceptible Aedes aegypti populations with mosquitoes that have been colonized by the intracellular bacterium Wolbachia and thus have a reduced capacity to transmit arboviruses. This reduced ... |
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Unleashing a New Weapon on the Mosquito: A MosquitoS. Nolen and E. Lutz, New York Times, 2023.
Five decades ago, entomologists confronting the many kinds of suffering that mosquitoes inflict on humans began to consider a new idea: What if, instead of killing the mosquitoes (a losing proposition in most places), you could disarm them? Even if you couldn’t keep them from ... |
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Wolbachia Induces Structural Defects Harmful to Drosophila simulans Riverside Spermiogenesis.M. G. Riparbelli, A. Pratelli and G. Callaini, Cells, 12. 2023.
The relationship between cytoplasmic incompatibility and the obligate intracellular alphaproteobacteria Wolbachia has for a long time been reported. Although the molecular mechanisms responsible for this reproductive alteration are beginning to be understood, the effects of ... |
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Using Wolbachia to control rice planthopper populations: progress and challengesY. Guo, J. Shao, Y. Wu and Y. Li, Frontiers in Microbiology, 14. 2023.
Wolbachia have been developed as a tool for protecting humans from mosquito populations and mosquito-borne diseases. The success of using Wolbachia relies on the facts that Wolbachia are maternally transmitted and that Wolbachia-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility provides a ... |
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Quantifying the impact of Wolbachia releases on dengue infection in Townsville, AustraliaOgunlade, S. T. Adekunle, A. I. Meehan, M. T. McBryde, E. S., Scientific Reports, 13:14932. 2023.
From October 2014 to February 2019, local authorities in Townsville, North Queensland, Australia continually introduced Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes to control seasonal outbreaks of dengue infection. In this study, we develop a mathematical modelling framework to estimate the ... |
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Molecular Evidence of Wolbachia Species in Wild-Caught Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes in Four States of Northeast IndiaVinayagam, S. Nirmolia, T. Chetry, S. Kumar, N. P. Saini, P. Bhattacharyya, D. R. Bhowmick, I. P. Sattu, K. Patgiri, S. J., Journal of Tropical Medicine, 2023.
Wolbachia, a Gram-negative intracellular bacterium, naturally infects many arthropods, including mosquito vectors responsible for the spread of arboviral diseases such as Zika, chikungunya, and dengue fever. Certain Wolbachia strains are involved in inhibiting arbovirus ... |
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Jamestown Canyon virus is transmissible by Aedes aegypti and is only moderately blocked by Wolbachia co-infectionM. J. Lau, H. L. C. Dutra, M. J. Jones, B. P. McNulty, A. M. Diaz, F. Ware-Gilmore and E. A. McGraw, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 17. 2023.
Jamestown Canyon virus (JCV), a negative-sense arbovirus, is increasingly common in the upper Midwest of the USA. Transmitted by a range of mosquito genera, JCV's primary amplifying host is white-tailed deer. Aedes aegypti is responsible for transmitting various positive-sense ... |
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Does ignoring transmission dynamics lead to underestimation of the impact of interventions against mosquito-borne disease?S. Cavany, J. Huber, H. , A. Wieler, Q. M. Tran, M. Alkuzweny, M. Elliott, G. España, S. Moore, M. and T. A. Perkins, BMJ Global Health, 8:e012169. 2023.
New vector-control technologies to fight mosquito-borne diseases are urgently needed, the adoption of which depends on efficacy estimates from large-scale cluster-randomised trials (CRTs). The release of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes is one promising strategy to curb dengue virus ... |
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Wolbachia wMel strain-mediated effects on dengue virus vertical transmission from Aedes aegypti to their offspringK. Duong Thi Hue, D. da Silva Goncalves, V. Tran Thuy, L. Thi Vo, D. Le Thi, N. Vu Tuyet, G. Nguyen Thi, T. Huynh Thi Xuan, N. Nguyen Minh, P. Nguyen Thanh, S. Yacoub and C. P. Simmons, Parasites and Vectors, 16:308. 2023.
Background Dengue virus serotypes (DENV-1 to -4) can be transmitted vertically in Aedes aegpti mosquitoes. Whether infection with the wMel strain of the endosymbiont Wolbachia can reduce the incidence of vertical transmission of DENV from infected females to their offspring is ... |
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Wolbachia has subtle effects on thermal preference in highly inbred Drosophila melanogaster which vary with life stage and environmental conditionsA. Strunov, C. Schoenherr and M. Kapun, Scientific Reports, 13:13792. 2023.
Temperature fluctuations are challenging for ectotherms which are not able to regulate body temperature by physiological means and thus have to adjust their thermal environment via behavior. However, little is yet known about whether microbial symbionts influence thermal ... |
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The impact of predators of mosquito larvae on Wolbachia spreading dynamicsZ. Zhu, Y. Hui and L. Hu, Journal of Biological Dynamics, 17:2249024. 2023.
Dengue fever creates more than 390 million cases worldwide yearly. The most effective way to deal with this mosquito-borne disease is to control the vectors. In this work we consider two weapons, the endosymbiotic bacteria Wolbachia and predators of mosquito larvae, for combating ... |
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wMel Wolbachia alters female post-mating behaviors and physiology in the dengue vector mosquito Aedes aegyptiJ. Osorio, S. Villa-Arias, C. Camargo, L. F. Ramírez-Sánchez, L. M. Barrientos, C. Bedoya, G. Rúa-Uribe, S. Dorus, C. Alfonso-Parra and F. W. Avila, Communications Biology, 6:865. 2023.
Globally invasive Aedes aegypti disseminate numerous arboviruses that impact human health. One promising method to control Ae. aegypti populations is transinfection with Wolbachia pipientis, which naturally infects ~40–52% of insects but not Ae. aegypti. Transinfection of Ae. ... |
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Wolbachia infection at least partially rescues the fertility and ovary defects of several new Drosophila melanogaster bag of marbles protein-coding mutantsW. Miwa and F. A. Charles, bioRxiv, 2023.03.20.532813. 2023.
The D. melanogaster protein coding gene bag of marbles (bam) plays a key role in early male and female reproduction by forming complexes with partner proteins to promote differentiation in gametogenesis. Like another germline gene, Sex lethal, bam genetically interacts with the ... |
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Modeling shows emerging mosquito control approach might be largely resistant to warming temperaturesB. Yirka, Phys Org, 2023.
A team of epidemiologists and engineers at the University of California, working with a colleague from QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, in Australia, has found via modeling that the use of the Wolbachia approach to slowing the spread of mosquito-borne diseases (MBDs) is ... |
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Scientists are releasing disease-resistant mosquitoes. But heat waves could kill them.C. Harvey, Politico, 2023.
A new study, published Thursday in the journal Nature Climate Change, suggests that the disease-quashing bugs will likely survive for at least the next couple of decades. Their fate is less certain further into the future. The study focuses on a special insect-borne bacterium ... |
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wMel replacement of dengue-competent mosquitoes is robust to near-term changeV. N. Vásquez, L. M. Kueppers, G. Rašić and J. M. Marshall, Nature Climate Change, 13:848-855. 2023.
Rising temperatures are impacting the range and prevalence of mosquito-borne diseases. A promising biocontrol technology replaces wild mosquitoes with those carrying the virus-blocking Wolbachia bacterium. Because the most widely used strain, wMel, is adversely affected by heat ... |
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Susceptibility of Wolbachia mosquito control to temperature shiftsE. P. Caragata, Nature Climate Change, 13:767-768. 2023.
Vásquez and colleagues consider the potential impacts of increasing and variable temperatures on Wolbachia-based population-replacement interventions. Previous laboratory experiments have highlighted the temperature-sensitive nature of Wolbachia, with high average daily ... |
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Lab-grown special mosquitoes can be the secret weapon to fight dengueM. Jain, MONGABAY, 2023.
The World Mosquito Program infects the Aedes aegypti, which carries the dengue virus, with a bacteria called Wolbachia, which reduces the transmission of dengue. Dengue infections are rapidly increasing because of factors like urbanisation and climate change. The World Health ... |
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Modeling the Impact of Migration on Mosquito Population SuppressionM. Huang and J. Yu, Qualitative Theory of Dynamical Systems, 22:134. 2023.
The Wolbachia-induced incompatible insect technique is a promising strategy for controlling wild mosquito populations. However, recent experimental studies have shown that mosquito migration into target areas dilutes the strategy’s effectiveness. In this work, we formulate a ... |
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N. Wybouw, E. Van Reempts, J. Zarka, F. Zélé and D. Bonte, Heredity, 2023.
Maternally transmitted symbionts such as Wolbachia can alter sex allocation in haplodiploid arthropods. By biasing population sex ratios towards females, these changes in sex allocation may facilitate the spread of symbionts. In contrast to symbiont-induced cytoplasmic ... |
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The cellular lives of WolbachiaJ. Porter and W. Sullivan, Nature Reviews Microbiology, 2023.
Wolbachia are successful Gram-negative bacterial endosymbionts, globally infecting a large fraction of arthropod species and filarial nematodes. Efficient vertical transmission, the capacity for horizontal transmission, manipulation of host reproduction and enhancement of host ... |
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Threshold dynamics of a stochastic mathematical model for Wolbachia infectionsJ. Yang, Z. Chen, Y. Tan, Z. Liu and R. A. Cheke, Journal of Biological Dynamics, 17:2231967. 2023.
A stochastic mathematical model is proposed to study how environmental heterogeneity and the augmentation of mosquitoes with Wolbachia bacteria affect the outcomes of dengue disease. The existence and uniqueness of the positive solutions of the system are studied. Then the ... |
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Wolbachia -mediated resistance to Zika virus infection in Aedes aegypti is dominated by diverse transcriptional regulation and weak evolutionary pressuresE. C. Boehm, A. S. Jaeger, H. J. Ries, D. Castañeda, A. M. Weiler, C. C. Valencia, J. Weger-Lucarelli, G. D. Ebel, S. L. O'Connor, T. C. Friedrich, M. Zamanian and M. T. Aliota, bioRxiv, 2023.
A promising candidate for arbovirus control and prevention relies on replacing arbovirus-susceptible Aedes aegypti populations with mosquitoes that have been colonized by the intracellular bacterium Wolbachia and thus have a reduced capacity to transmit arboviruses. This reduced ... |
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Draft environmental assessment released for using modified mosquitoes to save native birds on KauaʻiAnonymous, Big Island NOW, 2023.
Today, the draft environmental assessment was made public for the use of Wolbachia-based incompatible male mosquitoes on Kauaʻi to stop the spread of avian malaria that is decimating native forest bird populations. The public has 31 days — from June 23 until July 24 — to ... |
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Draft environmental assessment for use of Wolbachia-based incompatible insect technique for the suppression of nonnative southern house mosquito populations on KauaʻiHawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources, Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources, 2023.
The State of Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources hereby transmits the Draft Environmental Assessment and Anticipated Finding of No Significant Impact (DEAEnvironmental Assessment for use of Wolbachia-based Incompatible Insect Technique for the suppression of ... |
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Effects of radiation on the fitness, sterility and arbovirus susceptibility of a Wolbachia-free Aedes albopictus strain for use in the Sterile Insect TechniqueD. J. Zhang, S. Yan, H. Yamada, Y. Wu, G. Wang, Q. D. Feng, D. Paerhande, H. Maiga, J. Bouyer, J. Qian, Z. D. Wu and X. Y. Zheng, Pest Management Science, 2023.
BACKGROUND: The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a green and species-specific insect pest control technique that suppresses target populations by releasing factory-reared, radio-sterilized males into the wild. Once released, it is important to be able to distinguish the released ... |
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Modeling emergence of Wolbachia toxin-antidote protein functions with an evolutionary algorithmJ. Beckmann, J. Gillespie and D. Tauritz, Front Microbiol, 14:1116766. 2023.
Evolutionary algorithms (EAs) simulate Darwinian evolution and adeptly mimic natural evolution. Most EA applications in biology encode high levels of abstraction in top-down population ecology models. In contrast, our research merges protein alignment algorithms from ... |
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Molecular detection of reproductive symbionts and parthenogenesis experiments in Tuta absoluta from Argentina: facing potential for sustainable and specific pest control strategiesC. Cagnotti, C. Conte, J. Kramar, S. Lanzavecchia and S. López, Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 2023.
Tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), is a key pest of tomato crops. Specific and environmentally friendly control strategies against this pest, such as the sterile insect technique (SIT), are under development and sexual reproduction has emerged ... |
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Molecular Biology of Cytoplasmic Incompatibility Caused by Wolbachia EndosymbiontsM. Hochstrasser, Annual Review of Microbiology, 2023.
Among endosymbiotic bacteria living within eukaryotic cells, Wolbachia is exceptionally widespread, particularly in arthropods. Inherited through the female germline, it has evolved ways to increase the fraction of bacterially infected offspring by inducing parthenogenesis, ... |
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Wolbachia -induced inhibition of O’nyong nyong virus in Anopheles mosquitoes is mediated by Toll signaling and modulated by cholesterolS. Pujhari, G. L. Hughes, N. Pakpour, Y. Suzuki and J. L. Rasgon, bioRxiv, 10.1101/2023.05.31.543096. 2023.Enhanced host immunity and competition for metabolic resources are two main competing hypotheses for the mechanism of Wolbachia -mediated pathogen inhibition in arthropods. Using an Anopheles mosquito - somatic Wolbachia infection - O'nyong nyong virus (ONNV) model, we ... |
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An economic evaluation of Wolbachia deployments for dengue control in VietnamH. 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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The optimal strategy of incompatible insect technique (IIT) using Wolbachia and the application to malaria controlT. Matsufuji and S. Seirin-Lee, Journal of Theoretical Biology, 569:111519. 2023.
For decades, techniques to control vector population with low environmental impact have been widely explored in both field and theoretical studies. The incompatible insect technique (IIT) using Wolbachia, based on cytoplasmic incompatibility, is a technique that ... |
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The prevalence of Wolbachia in multiple cockroach species and its implication for urban insect managementS. O. Oladipupo, Y. Laidoudi, J. F. Beckmann, X. P. Hu and A. G. Appel, Journal of Economic Entomology, 2023.
Cockroach management relies heavily on the use of conventional insecticides in urban settings, which no longer provide the anticipated level of control. Knowledge of cockroach endosymbionts, like Wolbachia, might provide novel avenues for control. Therefore, we screened 16 ... |
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Wolbachia protects Drosophila melanogaster against two naturally occurring and virulent viral pathogensG. Bruner-Montero and F. M. Jiggins, Scientific Reports, 13:8518. 2023.
Wolbachia is a common endosymbiont that can protect insects against viral pathogens. However, whether the antiviral effects of Wolbachia have a significant effect on fitness remains unclear. We have investigated the interaction between Drosophila melanogaster, Wolbachia and two ... |
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Holobiont perspectives on tripartite interactions among microbiota, mosquitoes, and pathogensR. Zheng, Q. Wang, R. Wu, P. N. Paradkar, A. A. Hoffmann and G. H. Wang, ISME, 2023.
Mosquito-borne diseases like dengue and malaria cause a significant global health burden. Unfortunately, current insecticides and environmental control strategies aimed at the vectors of these diseases are only moderately effective in decreasing disease burden. Understanding and ... |
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Wolbachia genetically interacts with the bag of marbles germline stem cell gene in male D. melanogasterM. Wenzel and C. F. Aquadro, MicroPubl Biol, 2023.
The bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia manipulates reproduction of its arthropod hosts to promote its own maternal vertical transmission. In female D. melanogaster , Wolbachia has been shown to genetically interact with three key reproductive genes ( bag of marbles ( bam ) , ... |
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Combined actions of bacteriophage-encoded genes in Wolbachia-induced male lethalityH. Arai, H. Anbutsu, Y. Nishikawa, M. Kogawa, K. Ishii, M. Hosokawa, S. R. Lin, M. Ueda, M. Nakai, Y. Kunimi, T. Harumoto, D. Kageyama, H. Takeyama and M. N. Inoue, iScience, 26:106842. 2023.
Some Wolbachia endosymbionts induce male killing, whereby male offspring of infected females are killed during development; however, the origin and diversity of the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we identified a 76 kbp prophage region specific to ... |
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Wolbachia-based strategies for control of agricultural pestsJ. T. Gong, T. P. Li, M. K. Wang and X. Y. Hong, Curr Opin Insect Sci, 101039:10.1016/j.cois.2023.101039. 2023.Wolbachia-based incompatible insect technique (IIT) and pathogen blocking technique (PBT) have been shown to be effective at protecting humans from mosquito-borne diseases in the past decades. Population suppression based on IIT and population replacement based on PBT have become ... |
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Massive mosquito factory in Brazil aims to halt dengueM. Lenharo, Nature, 2023.
The non-profit World Mosquito Program (WMP) has announced that it will release modified mosquitoes in many of Brazil’s urban areas over the next 10 years, with the aim of protecting up to 70 million people from diseases such as dengue. Researchers have tested the release of ... |
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Dengue Exposure and Wolbachia wMel Strain Affects the Fertility of Quiescent Eggs of Aedes aegyptiM. T. Petersen, D. Couto-Lima, G. A. Garcia, M. G. Pavan, M. R. David and R. Maciel-de-Freitas, Viruses, 15. 2023.
(1) Background: The deployment of the bacterium Wolbachia to reduce arbovirus transmission is ongoing in several countries worldwide. When Wolbachia-carrying Aedes aegypti are released and established in the field, females may feed on dengue-infected hosts. The effects of ... |
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Spatial Distribution and Long-Term Persistence of Wolbachia-Infected Aedes aegypti in the Mentari Court, MalaysiaY. L. Cheong, W. A. Nazni, H. L. Lee, A. NoorAfizah, I. C. MohdKhairuddin, G. M. R. Kamarul, N. M. N. Nizam, M. A. K. Arif, Z. M. NurZatilAqmar, S. M. Irwan, K. Khadijah, Y. M. Paid, O. Topek, A. H. Hasnor, R. AbuBakar, B. Singh Gill, K. Fadzilah, A. Tahi, Insects, 14. 2023.
Dengue is endemic in Malaysia, and vector control strategies are vital to reduce dengue transmission. The Wolbachia strain wAlbB carried by both sexes of Ae. aegypti was released in Mentari Court, a high-rise residential site, in October 2017 and stopped after 20 weeks. Wolbachia ... |
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A bacterium against the tiger: further evidence of the potential of non-inundative releases of males with manipulated Wolbachia infection in reducing fertility of Aedes albopictus field populations in ItalyB. Caputo, R. Moretti, C. Virgillito, M. Manica, E. Lampazzi, G. Lombardi, P. Serini, V. Pichler, N. W. Beebe, A. Della Torre and M. Calvitti, Pest Management Science, 2023.
BACKGROUND: Incompatible Insect Technique (IIT) is a population suppression approach based on the release of males with manipulated Wolbachia infection inducing egg inviability in wild females. We here present results of multiple field releases of incompatible ARwP males carried ... |
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One strain may hide another: Cryptic male-killing WolbachiaE. A. Hornett and G. D. D. Hurst, PLOS Biology, 21:e3002076. 2023.
While heritable symbionts are common in insects, strains that act as male-killers are considered rare. This Primer explores a new study in PLOS Biology which reveals a novel male-killer hidden by co-infection and host resistance, highlighting the complexity of host-microbial ... |
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The Wolbachia WalE1 effector alters Drosophila endocytosisM. Martin and I. L. G. Newton, bioRxiv, 2023.
The most common intracellular bacterial infection is Wolbachia pipientis , a microbe that manipulates host reproduction and is used in control of insect vectors. Phenotypes induced by Wolbachia have been studied for decades and range from sperm-egg incompatibility to male ... |
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Modelling Emergence of Wolbachia Toxin-Antidote Protein Functions with an Evolutionary AlgorithmJ. Beckmann, J. Gillespie and D. Tauritz, bioRxiv, 2023.
Evolutionary algorithms (EAs) simulate Darwinian evolution and adeptly mimic natural evolution. Most EA applications in biology encode high levels of abstraction in top-down ecological population models. In contrast, our research merges protein alignment algorithms from ... |
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A male-killing Wolbachia endosymbiont is concealed by another endosymbiont and a nuclear suppressorK. M. Richardson, P. A. Ross, B. S. Cooper, W. R. Conner, T. Schmidt and A. A. Hoffmann, PLoS Biol, 21:e3001879. 2023.
Bacteria that live inside the cells of insect hosts (endosymbionts) can alter the reproduction of their hosts, including the killing of male offspring (male killing, MK). MK has only been described in a few insects, but this may reflect challenges in detecting MK rather than its ... |
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Convergent Aedes and Drosophila CidB interactomes suggest cytoplasmic incompatibility targets are conservedS. O. Oladipupo, J. D. Carroll and J. F. Beckmann, Insect Biochem Mol Biol, 103931. 2023.
Wolbachia-mediated cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) is a conditional embryonic lethality induced when Wolbachia-modified sperm fertilizes an uninfected egg. The Wolbachia proteins, CidA and CidB control CI. CidA is a rescue factor that reverses lethality. CidA binds to CidB. CidB ... |
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Enhancing the scalability of Wolbachia-based vector-borne disease management: time and temperature limits for storage and transport of Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti eggs for field releasesM. J. Allman, Y. H. Lin, D. A. Joubert, J. Addley-Cook, M. C. Mejía-Torres, C. P. Simmons, H. A. Flores and J. E. Fraser, Parasit Vectors, 16:108. 2023.
BACKGROUND: Introgression of the bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia into Aedes aegypti populations is a biocontrol approach being used to reduce arbovirus transmission. This requires mass release of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes. While releases have been conducted using a variety ... |
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Functional analysis of Wolbachia Cid effectors unravels cooperative interactions to target host chromatin during replicationK. Terretaz, B. Horard, M. Weill, B. Loppin and F. Landmann, PLOS Pathogens, 19:e1011211. 2023.
Wolbachia are common bacteria among terrestrial arthropods. These endosymbionts transmitted through the female germline manipulate their host reproduction through several mechanisms whose most prevalent form called Cytoplasmic Incompatibility -CI- is a conditional sterility ... |
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Distinct Wolbachia localization patterns in oocytes of diverse host species reveal multiple strategies of maternal transmissionY. A. Radousky, M. T. J. Hague, S. Fowler, E. Paneru, A. Codina, C. Rugamas, G. Hartzog, B. S. Cooper and W. Sullivan, Genetics, 2023.
A broad array of endosymbionts radiate through host populations via vertical transmission, yet much remains unknown concerning the cellular basis, diversity and routes underlying this transmission strategy. Here we address these issues, by examining the cellular distributions of ... |
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First report of natural Wolbachia infections in mosquitoes from CubaA. Ruiz, G. Gutiérrez-Bugallo, R. Rodríguez-Roche, L. Pérez, R. González-Broche, L. A. Piedra, L. C. Martínez, Z. Menéndez, A. Vega-Rúa and J. A. Bisset, Acta Tropica, 242:106891. 2023.
Mosquitoes are extensively responsible for the transmission of pathogens. Novel strategies using Wolbachia could transform that scenario, since these bacteria manipulate mosquito reproduction, and can confer a pathogen transmission-blocking phenotype in culicids. Here, we ... |
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Modeling Sustained Transmission of Wolbachia among Anopheles Mosquitoes: Implications for Malaria Control in HaitiD. Florez, A. J. Young, K. J. Bernabé, J. M. Hyman and Z. Qu, Trop Med Infect Dis, 8. 2023.
Wolbachia infection in Anopheles albimanus mosquitoes can render mosquitoes less capable of spreading malaria. We developed and analyzed a mechanistic compartmental ordinary differential equation model to evaluate the effectiveness of Wolbachia-based vector control strategies ... |
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A mosquito population suppression model with a saturated Wolbachia release strategy in seasonal successionZ. Zhang, L. Chang, Q. Huang, R. Yan and B. Zheng, J Math Biol, 86:51. 2023.
Releasing Wolbachia-infected male mosquitoes to suppress wild female mosquitoes through cytoplasmic incompatibility has shown great promise in controlling and preventing mosquito-borne diseases. To make the release logistically and economically feasible, we propose a saturated ... |
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Analysing inhibition of dengue virus in Wolbachia-infected mosquito cells following the removal of WolbachiaM. Hussain, K. Etebari and S. Asgari, Virology, 581:48-55. 2023.
Wolbachia pipientis is known to block replication of positive sense RNA viruses. Previously, we created an Aedes aegypti Aag2 cell line (Aag2.wAlbB) transinfected with the wAlbB strain of Wolbachia and a matching tetracycline-cured Aag2.tet cell line. While dengue virus (DENV) ... |
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Effects of Wolbachia on Transposable Element Expression Vary Between Drosophila melanogaster Host GenotypesA. T. Eugénio, M. S. P. Marialva and P. Beldade, Genome Biology Evolution, 15. 2023.
Transposable elements (TEs) are repetitive DNA sequences capable of changing position in host genomes, thereby causing mutations. TE insertions typically have deleterious effects but they can also be beneficial. Increasing evidence of the contribution of TEs to adaptive evolution ... |
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Genome evolution of dengue virus serotype 1 under selection by Wolbachia pipientis in Aedes aegypti mosquitoesD. Thi Hue Kien, K. Edenborough, D. da Silva Goncalves, T. Thuy Vi, E. Casagrande, H. Thi Le Duyen, V. Thi Long, L. Thi Dui, V. Thi Tuyet Nhu, N. Thi Giang, H. Thi Xuan Trang, E. Lee, I. a. Donovan-Banfield, H. Thi Thuy Van, N. Minh Nguyet, N. Thanh Phong, Virus Evolution, 9:vead016. 2023.
The introgression of antiviral strains of Wolbachia into Aedes aegypti mosquito populations is a public health intervention for the control of dengue. Plausibly, dengue virus (DENV) could evolve to bypass the antiviral effects of Wolbachia and undermine this approach. Here, we ... |
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Wolbachia pipientis infections in populations of Aedes albopictus in the city of València (Spain): implications for mosquito controlR. Bueno-Marí, R. Domínguez-Santos, M. Trelis, E. Garrote-Sánchez, M. Cholvi, F. Quero de Lera, M. Khoubbane, A. Marcilla and R. Gi, Revista Española de Salud Pública, 97. 2023.
OBJECTIVE: The presence of Aedes albopictus, of high sanitary and social impact, was first reported in Valencia (Eastern Spain) in 2015. Innovative tools for its control include the use of the endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia pipientis. The release of mosquito males infected ... |
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Satellite Rearing of Aedes Mosquito Eggs: Synchronized Empirical Test of a Novel Mass Rearing ModelK. L. Dobson, K. Blore, J. A. Henke, K. Y. Hung, T. Morgan, T. Posey, S. Sun, O. Sypes, N. P. Tremblay and S. L. Dobson, J Am Mosq Control Assoc, 39:12-17. 2023.
Mosquito suppression strategies based on "rear and release" of male mosquitoes are attracting renewed interest from governments, municipalities, and private businesses. These include irradiation-based sterile insect technique, Wolbachia-based technologies, and genetic ... |
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Ovarian Transcriptional Response to Wolbachia Infection in D. melanogaster in the Context of Between-Genotype Variation in Gene ExpressionS. I. Frantz, C. M. Small, W. A. Cresko and N. D. Singh, G3-Genes Genomes Genetics, 2023.
Wolbachia is a maternally-transmitted endosymbiotic bacteria that infects a wide variety of arthropod and nematode hosts. The effects of Wolbachia on host biology are far-reaching and include changes in host gene expression. However, previous work on the host transcriptional ... |
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Wbm0076, a candidate effector protein of the Wolbachia endosymbiont of Brugia malayi, disrupts eukaryotic actin dynamicsM. K. Mills, L. G. McCabe, E. M. Rodrigue, K. F. Lechtreck and V. J. Starai, PLoS Pathogens, 19:e1010777. 2023.
Brugia malayi, a parasitic roundworm of humans, is colonized by the obligate intracellular bacterium, Wolbachia pipientis. The symbiosis between this nematode and bacterium is essential for nematode reproduction and long-term survival in a human host. Therefore, identifying ... |
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NDUFA8 potentially rescues Wolbachia-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility in Laodelphax striatellusJ. Chen, M. K. Wang, Q. X. Xie, X. L. Bing, T. P. Li and X. Y. Hong, Insect Sci, 2023.
The endosymbiont Wolbachia manipulates host reproduction by several strategies, one of the most important of which is cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). CI can be rescued when Wolbachia-infected (WI) males mate with females infected with the same Wolbachia strain. However, the ... |
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Investigating Wolbachia symbiont-mediated host protection against a bacterial pathogen using a natural Wolbachia nuclear insertC. 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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Pangenomic analysis of Wolbachia provides insight into the evolution of host adaptation and cytoplasmic incompatibility factor genesB. Liu, Y. S. Ren, C. Y. Su, Y. Abe and D. H. Zhu, Frontiers in Microbiology, 14:1084839. 2023.
INTRODUCTION: The genus Wolbachia provides a typical example of intracellular bacteria that infect the germline of arthropods and filarial nematodes worldwide. Their importance as biological regulators of invertebrates, so it is particularly important to study the evolution, ... |
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Biological comparative study between Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti mosquito and Wolbachia-uninfected strain, Jeddah city, Saudi ArabiaA. G. Algamdi, F. M. Shaher and J. A. Mahyoub, Saudi J Biol Sci, 30:103581. 2023.
In this study, samples of Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes were collected from Al-Safa district in Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia. The presence of Wolbachia bacteria in mosquitoes was confirmed by PCR technique and they were reared and propagated in the laboratory. ... |
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Developing Wolbachia-based disease interventions for an extreme environmentP. 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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Impact of randomised wmel Wolbachia deployments on notified dengue cases and insecticide fogging for dengue control in Yogyakarta CityC. Indriani, S. K. Tanamas, U. Khasanah, M. R. Ansari, Rubangi, W. Tantowijoyo, R. A. Ahmad, S. M. Dufault, N. P. Jewell, A. Utarini, C. P. Simmons and K. L. Anders, Glob Health Action, 16:2166650. 2023.
BACKGROUND: Releases of Wolbachia (wMel)-infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes significantly reduced the incidence of virologically confirmed dengue in a previous cluster randomised trial in Yogyakarta City, Indonesia. Following the trial, wMel releases were extended to the untreated ... |
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Harnessing Wolbachia cytoplasmic incompatibility alleles for confined gene drive: A modeling studyJ. Li and J. Champer, PLOS Genetics, 19:e1010591. 2023.
Wolbachia are maternally-inherited bacteria, which can spread rapidly in populations by manipulating reproduction. cifA and cifB are genes found in Wolbachia phage that are responsible for cytoplasmic incompatibility, the most common type of Wolbachia reproductive interference. ... |
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Complicated expansion trajectories of insertion sequences and potential association with horizontal transfer of Wolbachia DNAY. H. Miao, D. W. Huang and J. H. Xiao, Zoological Research, 44:273-275. 2023.
Insertion sequences (ISs) are the simplest structural transposable elements (TEs) in prokaryotes, consisting only of a transposase coding sequence and its bilateral short terminal inverted repeats. Due to their gradually streamlined genomic construction, TEs rarely exist in the ... |
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Wolbachia Promotes Its Own Uptake by Host CellsL. B. Nevalainen, E. M. Layton and I. L. G. Newton, Infection and Immunity, e0055722. 2023.
Wolbachia pipientis is an incredibly widespread bacterial symbiont of insects, present in an estimated 25 to 52% of species worldwide. Wolbachia is faithfully maternally transmitted both in a laboratory setting and in the wild. In an established infection, Wolbachia is primarily ... |
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Wolbachia RNase HI contributes to virus blocking in the mosquito Aedes aegyptiM. Hussain, G. Zhang, M. Leitner, L. M. Hedges and S. Asgari, iScience, 26:105836. 2023.
The endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia pipientis blocks replication of several arboviruses in transinfected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. However, the mechanism of virus blocking remains poorly understood. Here, we characterized an RNase HI gene from Wolbachia, which is rapidly ... |
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Dynamics of an impulsive reaction-diffusion mosquitoes model with multiple control measuresY. Li, H. Zhao and K. Wang, Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering, 20:775-806. 2023.
It is well-known that mosquito control is one of the effective methods to reduce and prevent the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases. In this paper, we formulate a reaction-diffusion impulsive hybrid model incorporating Wolbachia, impulsively spraying of insecticides, spatial ... |
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Single-cell transcriptome sequencing reveals Wolbachia-mediated modification in early stages of Drosophila spermatogenesisW. Dou, B. Sun, Y. Miao, D. Huang and J. Xiao, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 290:20221963. 2023.
Wolbachia are the most widely distributed intracellular bacteria, and their most common effect on host phenotype is cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). A variety of models have been proposed to decipher the molecular mechanism of CI, among which the host modification (HM) model ... |
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Single-cell transcriptome sequencing reveals Wolbachia-mediated modification in early stages of Drosophila spermatogenesisW. Dou, B. Sun, Y. Miao, D. Huang and J. Xiao, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 290:20221963. 2023.
Wolbachia are the most widely distributed intracellular bacteria, and their most common effect on host phenotype is cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). A variety of models have been proposed to decipher the molecular mechanism of CI, among which the host modification (HM) model ... |
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Heterogeneous distribution of sex ratio distorters in natural populations of the isopod Armadillidium vulgareS. Durand, B. Lheraud, I. Giraud, N. Bech, F. Grandjean, T. Rigaud, J. Peccoud and R. Cordaux, Biology Letters, 19:20220457. 2023.
In the isopod Armadillidium vulgare, many females produce progenies with female-biased sex ratios, owing to two feminizing sex ratio distorters (SRD): Wolbachia endosymbionts and the f element. We investigated the distribution and population dynamics of these SRD and ... |
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Wolbachia endosymbionts manipulate GSC self-renewal and differentiation to enhance host fertilityS. L. Russell, J. R. Castillo and W. T. Sullivan, bioRxiv, 2022.12.15.520626. 2022.
The alphaproteobacterium Wolbachia pipientis infects thousands of arthropod and nematode species worldwide, making it a key target for host biological control. Wolbachia-driven host reproductive manipulations, such as cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), are often credited for ... |
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Assessing the efficacy of male Wolbachia-infected mosquito deployments to reduce dengue incidence in Singapore: study protocol for a cluster-randomized controlled trialJ. Ong, S. H. Ho, S. X. H. Soh, Y. Wong, Y. Ng, K. Vasquez, Y. L. Lai, Y. X. Setoh, C. S. Chong, V. Lee, J. C. C. Wong, C. H. Tan, S. Sim, L. C. Ng and J. T. Lim, Trials, 23:1023. 2022.
The study is designed as a parallel, two-arm, non-blinded cluster-randomized (CR) controlled trial to be conducted in high-rise public housing estates in Singapore, an equatorial city-state. The aim is to determine whether large-scale deployment of male Wolbachia-infected Ae. ... |
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Cell-based analysis reveals that sex-determining gene signals in Ostrinia are pivotally changed by male-killing WolbachiaB. Herran, T. N. Sugimoto, K. Watanabe, S. Imanishi, T. Tsuchida, T. Matsuo, Y. Ishikawa and D. Kageyama, PNAS Nexus, pgac293. 2022.
Wolbachia, a maternally transmitted bacterium, shows male-killing, an adaptive phenotype for cytoplasmic elements, in various arthropod species during the early developmental stages. In lepidopteran insects, lethality of males is accounted for by improper dosage compensation in ... |
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A Wolbachia factor for male killing in lepidopteran insectsS. Katsuma, K. Hirota, N. Matsuda-Imai, T. Fukui, T. Muro, K. Nishino, H. Kosako, K. Shoji, H. Takanashi, T. Fujii, S.-i. Arimura and T. Kiuchi, Nature Communications, 13:6764. 2022.
Bacterial symbionts, such as Wolbachia species, can manipulate the sexual development and reproduction of their insect hosts. For example, Wolbachia infection induces male-specific death in the Asian corn borer Ostrinia furnacalis by targeting the host factor Masculinizer (Masc), ... |
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Independent evaluation of Wolbachia infected male mosquito releases for control of Aedes aegypti in Harris County, Texas, using a Bayesian abundance estimatorS. Lozano, K. Pritts, D. Duguma, C. Fredregill and R. Connelly, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 16:e0010907. 2022.
Among disease vectors, Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae) is one of the most insidious species in the world. The disease burden created by this species has dramatically increased in the past 50 years, and during this time countries have relied on pesticides for control and ... |
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Independent evaluation of Wolbachia infected male mosquito releases for control of Aedes aegypti in Harris County, Texas, using a Bayesian abundance estimatorS. Lozano, K. Pritts, D. Duguma, C. Fredregill and R. Connelly, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 16:e0010907. 2022.
Author summary Aedes aegypti is one of the most important mosquito species because females can potentially carry pathogens that cause disease. These diseases have a tremendous impact worldwide making this species an important target of control. We evaluated a mosquito control ... |
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Influence of public hesitancy and receptivity on reactive behaviours towards releases of male Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes for dengue controlM. O. Lwin, Z. Ong, C. Panchapakesan, A. Sheldenkar, L. T. Soh, I. Chen, X. Li, W. Niah, K. Vasquez, S. Sim and L.-C. Ng, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 16:e0010910. 2022.
Singapore, a highly urbanized Asian tropical country that experiences periodic dengue outbreaks, is piloting field releases of male Wolbachia-carrying Aedes aegyptimosquitoes with the aim of suppressing urban populations of the primary dengue vector Aedes aegypti. This study ... |
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Wolbachia inhibits ovarian formation and increases blood feeding rate in female Aedes aegyptiM.-J. Lau, P. A. Ross, N. M. Endersby-Harshman, Q. Yang and A. A. Hoffmann, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 16:e0010913. 2022.
Author summary Wolbachia bacteria reduce the transmission of dengue and other arboviruses transmitted by their mosquito hosts once they have invaded host populations. This invasion process is being undertaken in Aedes aegypti mosquito populations throughout the world but can be ... |
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Monotonicity properties arising in a simple model of Wolbachia invasion for wild mosquito populationsD. Vicencio, O. Vasilieva and P. Gajardo, Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering, 20:1148-1175. 2022.
Using tools borrowed from monotone dynamical system theory, in the proposed model, we prove the existence of an invariant threshold manifold that allows us to provide practical recommendations for performing single and periodic releases of Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes, seeking ... |
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Hidden endosymbionts: A male-killer concealed by another endosymbiont and a nuclear suppressorK. M. Richardson, P. A. Ross, B. S. Cooper, W. R. Conner, T. Schmidt and A. A. Hoffmann, bioRxiv, 2022.10.19.512817. 2022.
Maternally transmitted endosymbiotic bacteria that cause male killing (MK) have only been described from a few insects, but this may reflect challenges in their detection rather than a rarity of MK. Here we identify MK Wolbachia in populations of Drosophila pseudotakahashii, ... |
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Wolbachia Biology, Mechanisms and Applications 2022David O'Brochta, GeneConvene Global Collaborative, 2022.
Intracellular and extracellular symbiotic/commensal bacteria have enormous potential when manipulated and deployed appropriately to serve as agents of control of insects and the pathogens they transmit. Wolbachia, an intracellular bacteria, is a well studied system and one that ... |
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Wolbachia wAlbB inhibit dengue and Zika infection in the mosquito Aedes aegypti with an Australian backgroundL. E. Hugo, G. Rašić, A. J. Maynard, L. Ambrose, C. Liddington, C. J. E. Thomas, N. S. Nath, M. Graham, C. Winterford, B. M. C. R. Wimalasiri-Yapa, Z. Xi, N. W. Beebe and G. J. Devine, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 16:e0010786. 2022.
Biological control of mosquito vectors using the endosymbiotic bacteria Wolbachia is an emerging strategy for the management of human arboviral diseases. We recently described the development of a strain of Aedes aegypti infected with the Wolbachia strain wAlbB (referred to as ... |
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Risk Assessment on the Release of Wolbachia-Infected Aedes aegypti in Yogyakarta, IndonesiaD. Buchori, A. Mawan, I. Nurhayati, A. Aryati, H. Kusnanto and U. K. Hadi, Insects, 13. 2022.
Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti is the latest technology that was developed to eliminate dengue fever. The Ministry of Research and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemenristekdikti) established an expert group to identify future potential risks that may occur over a ... |
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Wolbachia-Virus interactions and arbovirus control through population replacement in mosquitoesT. H. Ant, M. V. Mancini, C. J. McNamara, S. M. Rainey and S. P. Sinkins, Pathogens and Global Health, 2022.
Following transfer into the primary arbovirus vector Aedes aegypti, several strains of the intracellular bacterium Wolbachia have been shown to inhibit the transmission of dengue, Zika, and chikungunya viruses, important human pathogens that cause significant morbidity and ... |
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Fitness costs of Wolbachia shift in locally-adapted Aedes aegypti mosquitoesP. A. Ross and A. A. Hoffmann, Environmental Microbiology, 2022.
Aedes aegypti mosquito eggs can remain quiescent for many months before hatching, allowing populations to persist through unfavorable conditions. Aedes aegypti infected with the Wolbachia strain wMel have been released in tropical and subtropical regions for dengue control. wMel ... |
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Distribution of sex ratio distorters in natural populations of the isopod Armadillidium vulgare2022. |
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Externalities modulate the effectiveness of the Wolbachia release programmeE. E. Ooi and A. Wilder-Smith, The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2022.
Despite the remarkable outcome in Yogyakarta, the wMel approach also has some challenges. In particular, the extent to which ecological, weather, and other external factors influence the dissemination and establishment of wMel in complex urban environments remains unclear. ... |
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Estimating the effect of the wMel release programme on the incidence of dengue and chikungunya in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: a spatiotemporal modelling studyG. Ribeiro dos Santos, B. Durovni, V. Saraceni, T. I. Souza Riback, S. B. Pinto, K. L. Anders, et al., The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2022.
Summary Background Introgression of genetic material from species of the insect bacteria Wolbachia into populations of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes has been shown in randomised and non-randomised trials to reduce the incidence of dengue; however, evidence for the real-world ... |
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The Involvement of Atlastin in Dengue Virus and Wolbachia Infection in Aedes aegypti and Its Regulation by aae-miR-989M. Hussain, T. Bradshaw, M. Lee and S. Asgari, Microbiology Spectrum, 2022.
Endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-shaping atlastin proteins (ATLs) have been demonstrated to play a functional role during flavivirus replication in mammalian cells. For dengue virus (DENV), atlastin is required in the formation of the replication organelles and RNA replication, virion ... |
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Wolbachia action in the sperm produces developmentally deferred chromosome segregation defects during the Drosophila mid-blastula transitionB. Warecki, S. W. A. Titen, M. S. Alam, G. Vega, N. Lemseffer, K. Hug, et al., eLife, 11:e81292. 2022.
Wolbachia, a vertically transmitted endosymbiont infecting many insects, spreads rapidly through uninfected populations by a mechanism known as cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). In CI, a paternally delivered modification of the sperm leads to chromatin defects and lethality ... |
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Wolbachia strain wAlbB remains stable in Aedes aegypti over 15 years but exhibits genetic background-dependent variation in virus blockingX. Liang, C. H. Tan, Q. Sun, M. Zhang, P. J. Wong, M. I. Li, et al., PNAS Nexus, 2022.
The ability of the maternally transmitted endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia to induce cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) and virus blocking makes it a promising weapon for combatting mosquito-borne diseases through either suppression or replacement of wild-type populations. Recent ... |
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Genome sequencing and comparative analysis of Wolbachia strain wAlbA reveals Wolbachia-associated plasmids are commonJ. Martinez, T. H. Ant, S. M. Murdochy, L. Tong, A. da Silva Filipe and S. P. Sinkins, PLOS Genetics, 18:e1010406. 2022.
Wolbachia is the most common bacterial symbiont of arthropods, being found in about half of terrestrial species around the globe. It is transmitted from mother to offspring, can spread rapidly by inducing various forms of reproductive parasitism and often provides protection ... |
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Bill Gates’ Colombian Mosquito Factory Breeding 30 Million Bacteria-Infected Mosquitos Per Weekanonymous, GREATGAMEINDIA, 2022.
Bill Gates’ Colombian ‘mosquito factory’ is breeding 30 million bacteria-infected mosquitos per week. The project’s objective appears to be to introduce Wolbachia into native mosquito populations by employing lab-bred mosquitoes, resulting in the infection of such ... |
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Modified mosquito releases to fight dengue fever, chikungunya or yellow feverSewell, Tammy, OICANADIAN, 2022.
To date, only one technique based on genetically modified mosquitoes has been developed at an operational level, it is the RIDL technique (release of insects carrying a dominant lethal gene, or release of insects carrying a dominant lethality gene). Male mosquitoes which, unlike ... |
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An optimal control problem for dengue transmission model with Wolbachia and vaccinationJ. Zhang, L. L. Liu, Y. Z. Li and Y. Wang, Communications In Nonlinear Science and Numerical Simulation, 116. 2022.
The release of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes into the wild mosquitoes population is an excellent biological control strategy which can be effective against mosquito-borne infections. In this work, we propose a dengue transmission model that incorporates releasing Wolbachia into ... |
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Bacterial supergroup-specific “cost” of Wolbachia infections in Nasonia vitripennisA. Tiwary, R. Babu, R. Sen and R. Raychoudhury, Ecology and Evolution, 2022.
Abstract The maternally inherited endosymbiont, Wolbachia, is known to alter the reproductive biology of its arthropod hosts for its own benefit and can induce both positive and negative fitness effects in many hosts. Here, we describe the effects of the maintenance of two ... |
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Call for public consultation ̶ Development of Target Product Profiles (TPPs) for Wolbachia infected Aedes aegypti population replacement interventionWorld Health Organization, WHO, 2022.
WHO aims to reduce the global burden of dengue by 25% by 2030. To reach this goal, it is imperative to provide control programmes with sustainable vector control tools. Wolbachia, a symbiotic bacterium that occurs naturally in many insects, has been successfully transferred into ... |
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Comparative Ubiquitome Analysis Reveals Deubiquitinating Effects Induced by Wolbachia Infection in Drosophila melanogasterQ. Zong, B. Mao, H. B. Zhang, B. Wang, W. J. Yu, Z. W. Wang and Y. F. Wang, International Journal Molecular Science, 23. 2022.
The endosymbiotic Wolbachia bacteria frequently cause cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) in their insect hosts, where Wolbachia-infected males cross with uninfected females, leading to no or fewer progenies, indicating a paternal modification by Wolbachia. Recent studies have ... |
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Effect of Wolbachia Infection and Adult Food on the Sexual Signaling of Males of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly Ceratitis capitataG. A. Kyritsis, P. Koskinioti, K. Bourtzis and N. T. Papadopoulos, Insects, 13. 2022.
Sexual signaling is a fundamental component of sexual behavior of Ceratitis capitata that highly determines males' mating success. Nutritional status and age are dominant factors known to affect males' signaling performance and define the female decision to accept a male as a ... |
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Harnessing Wolbachia cytoplasmic incompatibility alleles for confined gene drive: a modeling studyJ. Li and J. Champer, bioRxiv, 2022.08.09.503337. 2022.
By using both mathematical and simulation models, we found that a drive containing CifA and CifB together create a confined drive with a moderate to high introduction threshold. When introduced separately, they act as a self-limiting drive. We observed that the performance of ... |
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Changing mosquito genes, spreading bacteria: Science sees success vs dengueC. E. Baclig, INQUIRER.NET, 2022.
Wolbachia, according to WMP, are extremely common bacteria that occur naturally in 50 percent of insect species, including mosquitoes, fruit flies, moths, dragonflies, and butterflies. Aedes aegypti or dengue-carrying mosquitoes, however, do not normally carry Wolbachia. Studies ... |
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Studies on the fitness characteristics of wMel- and wAlbB-introgressed Aedes aegypti (Pud) lines in comparison with wMel- and wAlbB-transinfected Aedes aegypti (Aus) and wild-type Aedes aegypti (Pud) linesC. Sadanandane, K. Gunasekaran, D. Panneer, S. K. Subbarao, M. Rahi, B. Vijayakumar, V. Athithan, A. Sakthivel, S. Dinesh and P. Jambulingam, Frontiers in Microbiology, 13:947857. 2022.
Wolbachia, an intracellular maternally transmitted endosymbiont, has been shown to interfere with the replication of dengue virus in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The Wolbachia-transinfected Ae. aegypti has been currently released in many countries to test its effectiveness in ... |
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Wolbachia Dynamics in Mosquitoes with Incomplete CI and Imperfect Maternal Transmission by a DDE SystemY. Su, B. Zheng and X. Zou, Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, 84:95. 2022.
In this paper, we propose a delay differential equation model to describe the Wolbachia infection dynamics in mosquitoes in which the key factor of cytoplasmic incompactibility (CI) is incorporated in a more natural way than those in the literature. By analyzing the dynamics of ... |
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Wolbachia wPip Blocks Zika Virus Transovarial Transmission in Aedes albopictusY. 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 environmentP. 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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Lack of robust evidence for a Wolbachia infection in Anopheles gambiae from Burkina FasoS. P. Sawadogo, D. A. Kabore, E. B. Tibiri, A. Hughes, O. Gnankine, S. Quek, A. Diabaté, H. Ranson, G. L. Hughes and R. K. Dabiré, Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 2022.
The endosymbiont Wolbachia can have major effects on the reproductive fitness, and vectorial capacity of host insects and may provide new avenues to control mosquito-borne pathogens. Anopheles gambiae s.l is the major vector of malaria in Africa but the use of Wolbachia in this ... |
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Attempts to use breeding approaches in Aedes aegypti to create lines with distinct and stable relative Wolbachia densitiesA. 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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cifB-transcript levels largely explain cytoplasmic incompatibility variation across divergent WolbachiaJ. D. Shropshire, E. Hamant, W. R. Conner and B. S. Cooper, PNAS Nexus, 2022.
Divergent hosts often associate with intracellular microbes that influence their fitness. Maternally transmitted Wolbachia bacteria are the most common of these endosymbionts due largely to cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) that kills uninfected embryos fertilized by ... |
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Sensitivity of wMel and wAlbB Wolbachia infections in Aedes aegypti Puducherry (Indian) strains to heat stress during larval developmentK. Gunasekaran, C. Sadanandane, D. Panneer, A. Kumar, M. Rahi, S. Dinesh, B. Vijayakumar, M. Krishnaraja, S. K. Subbarao and P. Jambulingam, Parasites and Vectors, 15:221. 2022.
BACKGROUND: ICMR-Vector Control Research Centre, Puducherry, India, developed two colonies of Aedes aegypti infected with wMel and wAlbB Wolbacia strains called Ae. aegypti (Pud) lines for dengue control. The sensitivity of wMel and wAlbB strains in Ae. aegypti (Pud) lines to ... |
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Natural and Engineered Sex Ratio Distortion in InsectsA. Compton and Z. Tu, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10. 2022.
Insects have evolved highly diverse genetic sex-determination mechanisms and a relatively balanced male to female sex ratio is generally expected. However, selection may shift the optimal sex ratio while meiotic drive and endosymbiont manipulation can result in sex ratio ... |
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Male-killing-associated bacteriophage WO identified from comparisons of Wolbachia endosymbionts of Homona magnanimaH. Arai, H. Anbutsu, Y. Nishikawa, M. Kogawa, K. Ishii, M. Hosokawa, S.-R. Lin, M. Ueda, M. Nakai, Y. Kunimi, T. Harumoto, D. Kageyama, H. Takeyama and M. N. Inoue, bioRxiv, 2022.
The origin and mechanism of male-killing, an advantageous strategy employed by maternally transmitted symbionts such as Wolbachia, remain unclear. We compared genomes of four Wolbachia strains derived from Homona magnanima, a male-killing strain wHm-t (1.5 Mb), and three ... |
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Mosquito control to save Hawaiian honeycreepers does not involve GMOsDepartment of Land and Natural Resources, Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, 2022.
Despite misinformation circulating on social media, the importation of “incompatible-male” mosquitoes to control populations of wild mosquitoes and to save four native bird species from extinction, does not involve the use of any genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or ... |
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Establishment of Wolbachia infection in Aedes aegypti from Pakistan via embryonic microinjection and semi-field evaluation of general fitness of resultant mosquito populationM. S. Sarwar, N. Jahan, A. Ali, H. K. Yousaf and I. Munzoor, Parasites and Vectors, 15:191. 2022.
BACKGROUND: Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease that is mainly spread by Aedes aegypti. It is prevalent on five continents, predominantly in tropical and sub-tropical zones across the world. Wolbachia bacteria have been extensively used in vector control strategies ... |
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Modifying mosquitoes to suppress disease transmission: Is the long wait over?J. R. Powell, Genetics, 2022.
For more than 50 years it has been a dream of medical entomologists and public health workers to control diseases like malaria and dengue fever by modifying, through genetics and other methods, the arthropods that transmit them to humans. A brief synopsis of the history of ... |
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Wolbachia interacts with the microbiome to shape fitness-associated traits during seasonal adaptation in Drosophila melanogasterL. P. Henry, M. Fernandez, S. Wolf and J. Ayroles, bioRxiv, 2022.05.31.494239. 2022.
The microbiome contributes to many different host traits, but its role in host adaptation remains enigmatic. The fitness benefits of the microbiome often depend on ecological conditions, but fluctuations in both the microbiome and environment modulate these fitness benefits. ... |
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Reply to: Assessing the efficiency of Verily’s automated process for production and release of male Wolbachia-infected mosquitoesJ. E. Crawford, K. C. Hopkins, A. Buchman, T. Zha, P. Howell, E. Kakani, J. R. Ohm, N. Snoad, L. Upson, J. Holeman, P. Massaro, S. L. Dobson, F. S. Mulligan and B. J. White, Nature Biotechnology, 2022.
We appreciate the comments from Bouyer et al. under their mandate as a United Nations agency program (‘to promote the safe and appropriate use of nuclear techniques and related technologies in food and agriculture’) on our paper1 . The centuries-old fight against ... |
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Assessing the efficiency of Verily’s automated process for production and release of male Wolbachia-infected mosquitoesJ. Bouyer, H. Maiga and M. J. B. Vreysen, Nature Biotechnology, 2022.
A paper by Crawford et al.1 titled ‘Efficient production of male Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes enables large-scale suppression of wild populations’ reports a mosquito control suppression trial carried out from2017 to 2018 in Fresco Country, California, USA1 . ... |
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Perplexing dynamics of Wolbachia proteins for cytoplasmic incompatibilityT. Harumoto and T. Fukatsu, PLOS Biology, 20:e3001644. 2022.
The mechanism of symbiont-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility has been a long-lasting mystery. This Primer explores a new study on Wolbachia’s Cif proteins in PLOS Biology that provides supportive evidence for the “Host-Modification Model,” although the alternative ... |
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The Cif proteins from Wolbachia prophage WO modify sperm genome integrity to establish cytoplasmic incompatibilityR. Kaur, B. A. Leigh, I. T. Ritchie and S. R. Bordenstein, PLOS Biology, 20:e3001584. 2022.
In Drosophila melanogaster, germline expression of the Wolbachia proteins CifA and CifB causes cytoplasmic incompatibility, but how this impairs male reproduction remains unclear. This study shows how Cif proteins encoded by the endosymbiont prophage invade the fly’s gametic ... |
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Wolbachia 16S rRNA haplotypes detected in wild Anopheles stephensi in eastern EthiopiaE. Waymire, S. Duddu, S. Yared, D. Getachew, D. Dengela, S. R. Bordenstein, M. Balkew, S. Zohdy, S. R. Irish and T. E. Carter, Parasites and Vectors, 15:178. 2022.
About two out of three Ethiopians are at risk of malaria, a disease caused by the parasites Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax. Anopheles stephensi, an invasive vector typically found in South Asia and the Middle East, was recently found to be distributed across eastern ... |
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Strategies to Mitigate Establishment under the Wolbachia Incompatible Insect TechniqueS. Soh, S. H. Ho, J. Ong, A. Seah, B. S. Dickens, K. W. Tan, J. R. Koo, A. R. Cook, S. Sim, C. H. Tan, L. C. Ng and J. T. Lim, Viruses, 14. 2022.
The Incompatible Insect Technique (IIT) strategy involves the release of male mosquitoes infected with the bacterium Wolbachia. Regular releases of male Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes can lead to the suppression of mosquito populations, thereby reducing the risk of transmission of ... |
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Simple, sensitive, and cost-effective detection of wAlbB Wolbachia in Aedes mosquitoes, using loop mediated isothermal amplification combined with the electrochemical biosensing methodP. Thayanukul, B. Lertanantawong, W. Sirawaraporn, S. Charasmongkolcharoen, T. Chaibun, R. Jittungdee and P. Kittayapong, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 16:e0009600. 2022.
Author summary Mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, zika, and yellow fever are transmitted to humans mainly by the bites of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Controlling the vectors of these diseases relies mostly on the use of insecticides. However, the efficiency has ... |
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Local adaptation of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to Wolbachia-induced fitness costsP. A. Ross and A. A. Hoffmann, bioRxiv, 2022.05.06.490959. 2022.
Aedes aegypti mosquito eggs can remain quiescent for many months before hatching, allowing populations to persist through unfavorable conditions. Aedes aegypti infected with the Wolbachia strain wMel have been released in tropical and subtropical regions for dengue control. wMel ... |
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Transient Introgression of Wolbachia into Aedes aegypti Populations Does Not Elicit an Antibody Response to Wolbachia Surface Protein in Community MembersE. Lee, T. Hien Nguyen, T. Yen Nguyen, S. Nam Vu, N. Duong Tran, L. Trung Nghia, Q. Mai Vien, T. Dong Nguyen, R. Kriiger Loterio, I. Iturbe-Ormaetxe, H. A. Flores, S. L. O'Neill, D. Anh Dang, C. P. Simmons and J. E. Fraser, Pathogens, 11. 2022.
Wolbachia is an endosymbiotic bacterium that can restrict the transmission of human pathogenic viruses by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Recent field trials have shown that dengue incidence is significantly reduced when Wolbachia is introgressed into the local Ae. aegypti population. ... |
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International shipments of Wolbachia-infected mosquito eggs: towards the scaling-up of World Mosquito Program operationsJ. A. Denton, D. A. Joubert, A. A. Goundar and J. R. L. Gilles, Scientific and Technical Review, 41:91-99. 2022.
The Wolbachia insect control method, employed by the World Mosquito Program (WMP), relies on introgressing Wolbachia through target Aedes aegypti populations to reduce the incidence of dengue. Since 2010, the WMP has been producing Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes at numerous sites ... |
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Pilot trial using mass field-releases of sterile males produced with the incompatible and sterile insect techniques as part of integrated Aedes aegypti control in MexicoA. Martín-Park, A. Che-Mendoza, Y. Contreras-Perera, S. Pérez-Carrillo, H. Puerta-Guardo, J. Villegas-Chim, G. Guillermo-May, A. Medina-Barreiro, H. Delfín-González, R. Méndez-Vales, S. Vázquez-Narvaez, J. Palacio-Vargas, F. Correa-Morales, G. Ayora-Tal, PLoS Negl Trop Dis, 16:e0010324. 2022.
We implemented a controlled before-and-after quasi-experimental study in two suburban localities of Yucatan (Mexico): San Pedro Chimay (SPC), which received IIT-SIT, and San Antonio Tahdzibichén used as control. Release of wAlbB Ae. aegypti males at SPC extended for 6 months ... |
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Wolbachia endosymbionts in two Anopheles species indicates independent acquisitions and lack of prophage elementsS. Quek, L. Cerdeira, C. L. Jeffries, S. Tomlinson, T. Walker, G. L. Hughes and E. Heinz, Microbial Genomics, 8. 2022.
Wolbachia is a genus of obligate bacterial endosymbionts that infect a diverse range of arthropod species as well as filarial nematodes, with its single described species, Wolbachia pipientis, divided into several ‘supergroups’ based on multilocus sequence typing. Wolbachia ... |
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Aedes aegypti abundance and insecticide resistance profiles in the applying Wolbachia to eliminate dengue trialW. Tantowijoyo, S. K. Tanamas, I. Nurhayati, S. Setyawan, N. Budiwati, I. Fitriana, I. Ernesia, D. S. Wardana, E. Supriyati, E. Arguni, Y. Meitika, E. Prabowo, B. Andari, B. R. Green, L. Hodgson, E. Rancès, P. A. Ryan, S. L. O'Neill, K. L. Anders, M. R. A, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 16:e0010284. 2022.
The Applying Wolbachia to Eliminate Dengue (AWED) trial was a parallel cluster randomised trial that demonstrated Wolbachia (wMel) introgression into Ae. aegypti populations reduced dengue incidence. In this predefined substudy, we compared between treatment arms, the relative ... |
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A metapopulation approach to identify targets for Wolbachia-based dengue controlA. Reyna-Lara, D. Soriano-Paños, J. H. Arias-Castro, H. J. Martínez and J. Gómez-Gardeñes, Chaos, 32:041105. 2022.
Over the last decade, the release of Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti into the natural habitat of this mosquito species has become the most sustainable and long-lasting technique to prevent and control vector-borne diseases, such as dengue, zika, or chikungunya. However, the ... |
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Environmental factors influence the local establishment of Wolbachia in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in two small communities in central Vietnam [version 2]N. T. Hien, D. D. Anh, N. H. Le, N. T. Yen, T. V. Phong, V. S. Nam, T. N. Duong, N. B. Nguyen, D. T. T. Huong, L. Q. Hung, C. N. T. Trinh, N. V. Hoang, V. Q. Mai, L. T. Nghia, N. T. Dong, L. H. Tho, S. Kutcher, T. P. Hurst, J. L. Montgomery, M. Woolfit, E, Gates Open Research, 5:147. 2022.
Background: The wMel strain of Wolbachia has been successfully introduced into Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and subsequently shown to reduce transmission of dengue and other pathogens, under both laboratory and field conditions. Here we describe the entomological outcomes of wMel ... |
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Mathematical modelling to assess the feasibility of Wolbachia in malaria vector biocontrolS. Andreychuk and L. Yakob, Journal of Theoretical Biology, 542. 2022.
Releasing mosquitoes transinfected with the endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia is a novel strategy for interrupting vector-borne pathogen transmission. Following its success in controlling arboviruses spread by Aedes aegypti, this technology is being adapted for anopheline malaria ... |
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Cytoplasmic incompatibility: A Wolbachia toxin–antidote mechanism comes into viewM. Hochstrasser, Current Biology, 32:R287-R289. 2022.
The Wolbachia cidA and cidB genes promote bacterial endosymbiont inheritance through the host female germline. CidB is now shown to load into maturing sperm nuclei. Following fertilization, it disrupts paternal chromosome condensation, triggering embryonic arrest if not countered ... |
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Special mosquitos to combat dengue fever in Binh DuongL. Phuong, VN Express, 2022.
Capsules containing mosquito eggs resistant to dengue fever viruses were released in southern Binh Duong's Thu Dau Mot Town on Thursday to help control the disease. The Wolbachia Project in southern Vietnam, conducted by the World Mosquito Program and collaborators, seeks to ... |
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Symbionts and gene drive: two strategies to combat vector-borne diseaseG.-H. Wang, J. Du, C. Y. Chu, M. Madhav, G. L. Hughes and J. Champer, Trends in Genetics, 2022.
Mosquitoes bring global health problems by transmitting parasites and viruses such as malaria and dengue. Unfortunately, current insecticide-based control strategies are only moderately effective because of high cost and resistance. Thus, scalable, sustainable, and cost-effective ... |
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Differential viral RNA methylation contributes to pathogen blocking in Wolbachia-colonized arthropodsT. Bhattacharya, L. Yan, J. M. Crawford, H. Zaher, I. L. G. Newton and R. W. Hardy, PLoS Pathogens, 18:e1010393. 2022.
Arthropod endosymbiont Wolbachia pipientis is part of a global biocontrol strategy to reduce the replication of mosquito-borne RNA viruses such as alphaviruses. We previously demonstrated the importance of a host cytosine methyltransferase, DNMT2, in Drosophila and viral RNA as a ... |
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Wolbachia wAlbB inhibits bluetongue and epizootic hemorrhagic fever viruses in Culicoides midge cellsM. L. Matthews, H. O. Covey, B. S. Drolet and C. L. Brelsfoard, Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 2022.
Abstract Culicoides midges are hematophagous insects that transmit arboviruses of veterinary importance. These viruses include bluetongue virus (BTV) and epizootic hemorrhagic fever virus (EHDV). The endosymbiont Wolbachia pipientis Hertig spreads rapidly through insect host ... |
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EVITA Dengue: a cluster-randomized controlled trial to EValuate the efficacy of Wolbachia-InfecTed Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in reducing the incidence of Arboviral infection in BrazilM. H. Collins, G. E. Potter, M. D. T. Hitchings, E. Butler, M. Wiles, J. K. Kennedy, S. B. Pinto, A. B. M. Teixeira, A. Casanovas-Massana, N. G. Rouphael, G. A. Deye, C. P. Simmons, L. A. Moreira, M. L. Nogueira, D. A. T. Cummings, A. I. Ko, M. M. Teixeir, Trials, 23:185. 2022.
BACKGROUND: Arboviruses transmitted by Aedes aegypti including dengue, Zika, and chikungunya are a major global health problem, with over 2.5 billion at risk for dengue alone. There are no licensed antivirals for these infections, and safe and effective vaccines are not yet ... |
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Increased biting rate and decreased Wolbachia density in irradiated Aedes mosquitoesR. Moretti, E. Lampazzi, C. Damiani, G. Fabbri, G. Lombardi, C. Pioli, A. Desiderio, A. Serrao and M. Calvitti, Parasites and Vectors, 15:67. 2022.
Releasing considerable numbers of radiation-sterilized males is a promising strategy to suppress mosquito vectors. However, releases may also include small percentages of biting females, which translate to non-negligible numbers when releases are large. Currently, the effects of ... |
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Wolbachia in Aedes koreicus: Rare Detections and Possible ImplicationsC. Damiani, A. Cappelli, F. Comandatore, F. Montarsi, A. Serrao, A. Michelutti, M. Bertola, M. V. Mancini, I. Ricci, C. Bandi and G. Favia, Insects, 13. 2022.
The emerging distribution of new alien mosquito species was recently described in Europe. In addition to the invasion of Aedes albopictus, several studies have focused on monitoring and controlling other invasive Aedes species, as Aedes koreicus and Aedes japonicus. Considering ... |
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Wolbachia Impacts Anaplasma Infection in Ixodes scapularis Tick CellsK. M. Skinner, J. Underwood, A. Ghosh, A. S. Oliva Chavez and C. L. Brelsfoard, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19. 2022.
The specific interactions of members of tick bacterial microbiota and their effects on pathogen transmission remains relatively unexplored. Here, we introduced a novel Wolbachia infection type into Ixodes scapularis tick cells and examined the antipathogenic effects on the ... |
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Uniqueness and stability of periodic solutions for an interactive wild and Wolbachia-infected male mosquito modelR. Yan and Q. Sun, Journal of Biological Dynamics, 2022.
We investigate a mosquito population suppression model, which includes the release of Wolbachia-infected males causing incomplete cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). The model consists of two sub-equations by considering the density-dependent birth rate of wild mosquitoes. By ... |
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Quality over quantity: unraveling the contributions to cytoplasmic incompatibility caused by two coinfecting Cardinium symbiontsM. R. Doremus, C. M. Stouthamer, S. E. Kelly, S. Schmitz-Esser and M. S. Hunter, Heredity, 2022.
Cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) is a common form of reproductive sabotage caused by maternally inherited bacterial symbionts of arthropods. CI is a two-step manipulation: first, the symbiont modifies sperm in male hosts which results in the death of fertilized, uninfected ... |
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Endosymbionts moderate constrained sex allocation in a haplodiploid thrips species in a temperature-sensitive wayA. Katlav, D. T. Nguyen, J. L. Morrow, R. N. Spooner-Hart and M. Riegler, Heredity, 9. 2022.
Maternally inherited bacterial endosymbionts that affect host fitness are common in nature. Some endosymbionts colonise host populations by reproductive manipulations (such as cytoplasmic incompatibility; CI) that increase the reproductive fitness of infected over uninfected ... |
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Assessing Aedes aegypti candidate genes during viral infection and Wolbachia-mediated pathogen blockingL. T. Sigle, M. Jones, M. Novelo, S. A. Ford, N. Urakova, K. Lymperopoulos, R. T. Sayre, Z. Xi, J. L. Rasgon and E. A. McGraw, Insect Molecular Biology, 2022.
Abstract One approach to control dengue virus transmission is the symbiont Wolbachia, that limits viral infection in mosquitoes. Despite plans for its widespread use in Aedes aegypti, Wolbachia's mode of action remains poorly understood. Many studies suggest that the mechanism is ... |
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Paternal transmission of the Wolbachia CidB toxin underlies cytoplasmic incompatibilityB. Horard, K. Terretaz, A. S. Gosselin-Grenet, H. Sobry, M. Sicard, F. Landmann and B. Loppin, Current Biology, 2022.
Wolbachia are widespread endosymbiotic bacteria that manipulate the reproduction of arthropods through a diversity of cellular mechanisms. In cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), a sterility syndrome originally discovered in the mosquito Culex pipiens, uninfected eggs fertilized by ... |
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Monitoring Needs for Gene Drive Mosquito Projects: Lessons From Vector Control Field Trials and Invasive SpeciesG. Rašić, N. F. Lobo, E. H. Jeffrey Gutiérrez, C. H. Sánchez and J. M. Marshall, Frontiers in Genetics, 12:780327. 2022.
As gene drive mosquito projects advance from contained laboratory testing to semi-field testing and small-scale field trials, there is a need to assess monitoring requirements to: i) assist with the effective introduction of the gene drive system at field sites, and ii) detect ... |
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Recently introduced Wolbachia reduces bacterial species richness and reshapes bacterial community structure in Nilaparvata lugensT.-P. Li, C.-Y. Zhou, J.-T. Gong, Z. Xi and X.-Y. Hong, Pest Management Science, 2022.
BACKGROUND Wolbachia has been developed as an effective tool to suppress insect pests and arbovirus transmission. Recently, the brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens, a serious agricultural pest, has been successfully transinfected with Wolbachia strain wStri from Laodelphax ... |
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Characterization of the first Wolbachia from the genus Scaptodrosophila, a male-killer from the rainforest species S. claytoniK. M. Richardson, M. Schiffer, P. A. Ross, J. A. Thia and A. A. Hoffmann, Insect Science, 2022.
Abstract The Scaptodrosophila genus represents a large group of drosophilids with a worldwide distribution and a predominance of species in Australia, but there is little information on the presence and impacts of Wolbachia endosymbionts in this group. Here we describe the first ... |
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Lab-scale characterization and semi-field trials of Wolbachia Strain wAlbB in a Taiwan Wolbachia introgressed Ae. aegypti strainW. L. Liu, H. Y. Yu, Y. X. Chen, B. Y. Chen, S. N. Leaw, C. H. Lin, M. P. Su, L. S. Tsai, Y. Chen, S. H. Shiao, Z. Y. Xi, A. C. C. Jang and C. H. Chen, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 16:24. 2022.
Author summaryPrior to open field release, new genetic approaches that interfere with mosquito abilities and reduce mosquito population density require progressive evaluation both in the laboratory and contained field trials. Trials in contained outdoor systems are thus an ... |
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Cytoplasmic incompatibility in hybrid zones: infection dynamics and resistance evolutionE. S. Røed and J. Engelstädter, Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 2021.
Cytoplasmic incompatibility is an endosymbiont-induced mating incompatibility common in arthropods. Unidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility impairs crosses between infected males and uninfected females, whereas bidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility occurs when two host ... |
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Determinants of stakeholders’ attitudes and intentions toward supporting the use of Wolbachia-infected Aedes mosquitoes for dengue controlA. F. Arham, L. Amin, M. A. C. Mustapa, Z. Mahadi, M. Yaacob and M. Ibrahim, BMC Public Health, 21:2314. 2021.
BACKGROUND: A recent approach in controlling dengue is by using the Wolbachia-infected Aedes mosquito (WiAM). The approach has been reported to be more effective than traditional methods, such as fogging. Therefore, it is imperative to assess the factors predicting its acceptance ... |
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From Wolbachia genomics to phenotype: molecular models of cytoplasmic incompatibility must account for the multiplicity of compatibility typesA. Namias, M. Sicard, M. Weill and S. Charlat, Current Opinion in Insect Science, 2021.
Wolbachia endosymbionts commonly induce cytoplasmic incompatibility, making infected males’ sperm lethal to the embryos unless these are rescued by the same bacterium, inherited from their mother. Causal genes were recently identified but two families of mechanistic models are ... |
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Wolbachia: Biological Control Strategy Against Arboviral DiseasesI. Mohanty, A. Rath and R. K. Hazra, Genetically Modified and other Innovative Vector Control Technologies, 2021.
Arboviral diseases like dengue, chikungunya, and Zika are among the major causes of mortality and morbidity in human population. The limited control methods together with lack of antiviral therapies and effective vaccines have paved way for new approaches. One such approach to ... |
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Wolbachia Endosymbiont and Mosquito Vectors, with Emphasis on Lymphatic Filariasis EliminationI. P. Sunish, Genetically Modified and other Innovative Vector Control Technologies, 2021.
Wolbachia are maternally inherited intracellular bacteria, known to alter early development and mitotic processes in their hosts. They are frequently observed as a reproductive parasite, capable of inducing feminization, parthenogenesis, male killing, or cytoplasmic ... |
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Field Trials of Gene Drive Mosquitoes: Lessons from Releases of Genetically Sterile Males and Wolbachia-infected MosquitoesJ. M. Marshall and V. N. Vásquez, Genetically Modified and other Innovative Vector Control Technologies, 2021.
The discovery of CRISPR-based gene editing and its application to homing-based gene drive has been greeted with excitement, for its potential to control mosquito-borne diseases on a wide scale, and concern, for the invasiveness and potential irreversibility of a release. At the ... |
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Arthropods of Medical Importance: Need for Genetic and Other Innovative Vector Control Technologies, with Emphasis on Eco-biosocial and Environmental Considerations.B. K. Tyagi, Genetically Modified and other Innovative Vector Control Technologies, 2021.
Among the world’s known vector groups, viz. arthropods, snails and rodents, the most important vectors originate from arthropods, the jointed legs. Arthropods are doubtlessly regarded as the most dominant creatures on the Earth due largely to their remarkable structural and ... |
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The Effects of Boric Acid Sugar Bait on Wolbachia Trans-Infected Male Aedes albopictus (ZAP Males®) in Laboratory ConditionsV. S. Aryaprema, W. A. Qualls, K. L. Dobson, S. L. Dobson and R.-D. Xue, Insects, 13. 2021.
The field release of Wolbachia trans-infected male mosquitoes, as well as the use of toxic sugar baits, is a novel and promising candidate technique for integrated mosquito management programs. However, the methods of action of the two techniques may not be complementary, because ... |
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Genetically Modified and other Innovative Vector Control TechnologiesB. K. Tyagi, SpringerLink, 2021.
This book comprehensively covers the latest development in developing and deploying the genetically modified vectors, particularly Anopheles and Aedes mosquitoes responsible for transmitting malaria parasites and dengue viruses, the most deadly and/or debilitating among all the ... |
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Demographic feedbacks can hamper the spatial spread of a gene driveL. Girardin and F. Débarre, Journal of Mathematical Biology, 83:67. 2021.
This paper is concerned with a reaction–diffusion system modeling the fixation and the invasion in a population of a gene drive (an allele biasing inheritance, increasing its own transmission to offspring). In our model, the gene drive has a negative effect on the fitness of ... |
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Towards Integrated Management of Dengue in MumbaiP. N. Paradkar, P. R. Sahasrabudhe, M. Ghag Sawant, S. Mukherjee and K. R. Blasdell, Viruses, 13. 2021.
With increasing urbanisation, the dengue disease burden is on the rise in India, especially in large cities such as Mumbai. Current dengue surveillance in Mumbai includes municipal corporation carrying out specific activities to reduce mosquito breeding sites and the use of ... |
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Combined sterile insect technique and incompatible insect technique: concept, study design, experience and lessons learned from a pilot suppression trial in ThailandKittayapong, P., AREA-WIDE INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT: Development and Field Application, 2021.
Climate change, rapid global transport and land use change leading to urbanization and agricultural intensification have facilitated disease emergence in vulnerable regions like Southeast Asia, and also the global expansion of vectors and vector-borne diseases into other regions ... |
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Wolbachia cifB induces cytoplasmic incompatibility in the malaria mosquito vectorK. L. Adams, D. G. Abernathy, B. C. Willett, E. K. Selland, M. A. Itoe and F. Catteruccia, Nature Microbiology, 6:1575-1582. 2021.
Wolbachia, a maternally inherited intracellular bacterial species, can manipulate host insect reproduction by cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), which results in embryo lethality in crosses between infected males and uninfected females. CI is encoded by two prophage genes, cifA ... |
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Wolbachia reduces virus infection in a natural population of DrosophilaR. Cogni, S. D. Ding, A. C. Pimentel, J. P. Day and F. M. Jiggins, Communications Biology, 4:1327. 2021.
Wolbachia is a maternally transmitted bacterial symbiont that is estimated to infect approximately half of arthropod species. In the laboratory it can increase the resistance of insects to viral infection, but its effect on viruses in nature is unknown. Here we report that in a ... |
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A Household-Based Survey to Understand Factors Influencing Awareness, Attitudes and Knowledge towards Wolbachia-Aedes TechnologyL. T. Soh, Z. Ong, K. Vasquez, I. Chen, X. Li, W. Niah, C. Panchapakesan, A. Sheldenkar, S. Sim, L. C. Ng and M. O. Lwin, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18. 2021.
In 2016, Singapore introduced the release of male Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes to complement vector control efforts and suppress Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in selected study sites. With ongoing expansion of Project Wolbachia-Singapore to cover larger areas, a household-based survey ... |
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High Temperature Cycles Result in Maternal Transmission and Dengue Infection Differences Between Wolbachia Strains in Aedes aegyptiM. V. Mancini, T. H. Ant, C. S. Herd, J. Martinez, S. M. Murdochy, D. D. Gingell, E. Mararo, P. C. D. Johnson and S. P. Sinkins, mBio, e0025021. 2021.
Environmental factors play a crucial role in the population dynamics of arthropod endosymbionts, and therefore in the deployment of Wolbachia symbionts for the control of dengue arboviruses. The potential of Wolbachia to invade, persist, and block virus transmission depends in ... |
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Prevalence and molecular characterization of Wolbachia in field-collected Aedes albopictus, Anopheles sinensis, Armigeres subalbatus, Culex pipiens and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus in ChinaY. Yang, Y. He, G. Zhu, J. Zhang, Z. Gong, S. Huang, G. Lu, Y. Peng, Y. Meng, X. Hao, C. Wang, J. Sun and S. Shang, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 15:e0009911. 2021.
Wolbachia are maternally transmitted intracellular bacteria that can naturally and artificially infect arthropods and nematodes. Recently, they were applied to control the spread of mosquito-borne pathogens by causing cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) between germ cells of females ... |
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Wolbachia goes to work in the war on mosquitoesS. Ong, Nature, 598:S32-s34. 2021.
There are two approaches to tackling dengue with Wolbachia. The first involves releasing only modified male mosquitoes. Since 2015, this strategy has been successfully adopted in Singapore and Guangzhou, China, and in parts of the United States, such as Miami, Texas and ... |
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A decade of stability for wMel Wolbachia in natural Aedes aegypti populationsP. A. Ross, K. L. Robinson, Q. Yang, A. G. Callahan, T. L. Schmidt, J. K. Axford, M. P. Coquilleau, K. M. Staunton, M. Townsend, S. A. Ritchie, M.-J. Lau, X. Gu and A. A. Hoffmann, bioRxiv, 2021.10.27.466190. 2021.
Mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia endosymbionts are being released in many countries for arbovirus control. The wMel strain of Wolbachia blocks Aedes-borne virus transmission and can spread throughout mosquito populations by inducing cytoplasmic incompatibility. Aedes aegypti ... |
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RNA virome diversity and Wolbachia infection in individual Drosophila simulans fliesA. S. Ortiz-Baez, M. Shi, A. A. Hoffmann and E. C. Holmes, Journal of General Virology, 102. 2021.
The endosymbiont bacteria of the genus Wolbachia are associated with multiple mutualistic effects on insect biology, including nutritional and antiviral properties. Members of the genus Wolbachia naturally occur in fly species of the genus Drosophila, providing an operational ... |
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Positive selection and horizontal gene transfer in the genome of a male-killing WolbachiaT. Hill, R. L. Unckless and J. I. Perlmutter, Molecular Biology and Evolution, 2021.
Wolbachia are a genus of widespread bacterial endosymbionts in which some strains can hijack or manipulate arthropod host reproduction. Male killing is one such manipulation in which these maternally transmitted bacteria benefit surviving daughters in part by removing competition ... |
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Novel Symbiotic Genome-Scale Model Reveals Wolbachia’s Arboviral Pathogen Blocking Mechanism in Aedes aegyptiN. E. Jiménez, Z. P. Gerdtzen, Á. Olivera-Nappa, J. C. Salgado and C. Conca, mBio, e0156321. 2021.Arboviral diseases such as Zika and Dengue have been on the rise mainly due to climate change, and the development of new treatments and strategies to limit their spreading is needed. The use of Wolbachia as an approach for disease control has motivated new research related to ... |
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Structural and mechanistic insights into the complexes formed by Wolbachia cytoplasmic incompatibility factorsY. Xiao, H. Chen, H. Wang, M. Zhang, X. Chen, J. M. Berk, L. Zhang, Y. Wei, W. Li, W. Cui, F. Wang, Q. Wang, C. Cui, T. Li, C. Chen, S. Ye, L. Zhang, X. Ji, J. Huang, W. Wang, Z. Wang, M. Hochstrasser and H. Yang, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118. 2021.
Wolbachia bacteria, inherited through the female germ line, infect a large fraction of arthropod species. Many Wolbachia strains manipulate host reproduction, most commonly through cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). CI, a conditional male sterility, results when Wolbachia-infected ... |
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A single mutation weakens symbiont-induced reproductive manipulation through reductions in deubiquitylation efficiencyJ. F. Beckmann, K. Van Vaerenberghe, D. E. Akwa and B. S. Cooper, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118:e2113271118. 2021.
We show that a single naturally observed mutation weakens CI by reducing deubiquitylation. These discoveries help elucidate the molecular basis of symbiont-induced reproductive manipulations.Animals interact with microbes that affect their performance and fitness, including ... |
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Discrete dynamical models on Wolbachia infection frequency in mosquito populations with biased release ratiosY. Shi and B. Zheng, Journal of Biological Dynamics, 2021.
We develop two discrete models to study how supplemental releases affect the Wolbachia spreading dynamics in cage mosquito populations. The first model focuses on the case when only infected males are released at each generation. This release strategy has been proved to be ... |
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Symbiotic Interactions Between Mosquitoes and Mosquito VirusesM. Altinli, E. Schnettler and M. Sicard, Front Cell Infect Microbiol, 11:694020. 2021.
Mosquitoes not only transmit human and veterinary pathogens called arboviruses (arthropod-borne viruses) but also harbor mosquito-associated insect-specific viruses (mosquito viruses) that cannot infect vertebrates. In the past, studies investigating mosquito viruses mainly ... |
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Two newly introduced Wolbachia endosymbionts induce cell host differences in competitiveness and metabolic responsesT. P. Li, S. S. Zha, C. Y. Zhou, X. Xia, A. A. Hoffmann and X. Y. Hong, Appl Environ Microbiol, Aem0147921. 2021.
Wolbachia endosymbionts can induce multiple reproductive manipulations in their hosts, with cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) being one of the most common manipulations. The important agricultural pests, white-backed planthopper (Sogatella furcifera) and brown planthopper ... |
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Persistent Spodoptera frugiperda rhabdovirus infection in Sf9 cells is not restricted by Wolbachia wMelPop-CLA and wAlbB strains and is targeted by the RNAi machineryR. Parry, H. de Malmanche and S. Asgari, Virology, 563:82-87. 2021.
The endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia pipientis confers RNA virus refractoriness in Drosophila and Aedes mosquitoes. Questions remain about the Wolbachia-virus restriction phenotype and how extensive this phenomenon may be within other arthropods. Here, we generated two ... |
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Wolbachia-Conferred Antiviral Protection Is Determined by Developmental TemperatureE. Chrostek, N. Martins, M. S. Marialva and L. Teixeira, mBio, e0292320. 2021.
Overall, we show that Wolbachia-conferred antiviral protection is temperature dependent, being present or absent depending on the environmental conditions. This interaction likely impacts Wolbachia-host interactions in nature and, as a result, frequencies of host and symbionts in ... |
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Diverse wMel variants of Wolbachia pipientis differentially rescue fertility and cytological defects of the bag of marbles partial loss of function mutation in Drosophila melanogasterJ. E. Bubnell, P. Fernandez-Begne, C. K. S. Ulbing and C. F. Aquadro, G3 Genes|Genomes|Genetics, 2021.
In Drosophila melanogaster, the maternally inherited endosymbiont Wolbachia pipientis interacts with germline stem cell genes during oogenesis. One such gene, bag of marbles (bam) is the key switch for differentiation and also shows signals of adaptive evolution for protein ... |
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Assessment of fitness and vector competence of a New Caledonia wMel Aedes aegypti strain before field-releaseN. Pocquet, O. O’Connor, H. A. Flores, J. Tutagata, M. Pol, D. J. Hooker, C. Inizan, S. Russet, J. M. Duyvestyn, E. C. Pacidônio, D. Girault, D. da Silva Gonçalves, M. Minier, F. Touzain, E. Chalus, K. Lucien, F. Cheilan, T. Derycke, S. Laumond, C. P. Sim, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 15:e0009752. 2021.
Dengue represents a risk for almost half of the world’s population, especially throughout the tropics. In New Caledonia, dengue outbreaks have become more frequent in the past decade along with the recent circulation of chikungunya and Zika viruses. The opportunity to use the ... |
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wMel Wolbachia genome remains stable after 7 years in Australian Aedes aegypti field populationsK. R. Dainty, J. Hawkey, L. M. Judd, E. C. Pacidônio, J. M. Duyvestyn, D. S. Gonçalves, S. Y. Lin, T. B. O'Donnell, S. L. O'Neill, C. P. Simmons, K. E. Holt and H. A. Flores, Microbial Genomics, 7. 2021.
Infection of wMel Wolbachia in Aedes aegypti imparts two signature features that enable its application for biocontrol of dengue. First, the susceptibility of mosquitoes to viruses such as dengue and Zika is reduced. Second, a reproductive manipulation is caused that enables wMel ... |
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Millions of Lab-Grown Mosquitoes Are Being Released in GuangzhouF. Yiying, Sixth Tone, 2021.
Guangzhou is releasing millions of lab-engineered mosquitoes every day to neuter and prevent preexisting mosquitoes in the environment from spreading vector-borne diseases, local television station reported Saturday.The Guangzhou Wolbaki Biotech Co., Ltd., in partnership with the ... |
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Sex separation of Aedes spp. mosquitoes for sterile insect technique application: a reviewB. M. Moran-Aceves, C. F. Marina, A. Dor, P. Liedo and J. Toledo, Entomologia Experimentalis Et Applicata, 10. 2021.
Separation of the sexes is necessary for the application of the sterile insect technique (SIT) in mosquitoes due to the hematophagous habits and disease vector activity of the females. In this review we analyze the history, current status, and future perspectives for the ... |
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Wolbachia as translational science: controlling mosquito-borne pathogensE. P. Caragata, H. L. C. Dutra, P. H. F. Sucupira, A. G. A. Ferreira and L. A. Moreira, Trends in Parasitology, 2021.
In this review we examine how exploiting the Wolbachia?mosquito relationship has become an increasingly popular strategy for controlling arbovirus transmission. Field deployments of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes have led to significant decreases in dengue virus incidence via high ... |
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Combating mosquito-borne diseases using genetic control technologiesG.-H. Wang, S. Gamez, R. R. Raban, J. M. Marshall, L. Alphey, M. Li, J. L. Rasgon and O. S. Akbari, Nature Communications, 12:4388. 2021.
Mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue and malaria, pose significant global health burdens. Unfortunately, current control methods based on insecticides and environmental maintenance have fallen short of eliminating the disease burden. Scalable, deployable, genetic-based ... |
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A wAlbB Wolbachia< transinfection displays stable phenotypic effects across divergent Aedes aegypti mosquito backgroundsP. A. Ross, X. Gu, K. L. Robinson, Q. Yang, E. Cottingham, Y. Zhang, H. L. Yeap, X. Xu, N. M. Endersby-Harshman and A. A. Hoffmann, bioRxiv, 2021.06.25.450002. 2021.
Aedes mosquitoes harboring intracellular Wolbachia bacteria are being released in arbovirus and mosquito control programs. With releases taking place around the world, understanding the contribution of host variation to Wolbachia phenotype is crucial. We generated a Wolbachia ... |
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Manipulated Mosquitoes Cut Dengue by 77%T. Hayes, Healthcare Packaging, 2021.Dengue, a mosquito-borne viral disease, wasn’t that common 50 years ago. In fact, only nine countries had severe outbreaks. But since then, it’s been on a steady incline to the point that there are now 400 million infections a year that contribute to 22,000 deaths. ... |
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Wolbachia-mediated sterility suppresses Aedes aegypti populations in the urban tropicsProject Wolbachia-Singapore Consortium, medRxiv, 2021.
Incompatible insect technique (IIT) via releases of male Wolbachiainfected mosquitoes is a promising tool for dengue control. In a three-year trial in Singaporean high-rise housing estates, we demonstrated that Wolbachia-based IIT dramatically reduces both wildtype Aedes aegypti ... |
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Dengue fever: Upstaged but not outmatched by COVID-19C. E. Baclig, INQUIRER.NET, 2021.
Science has made gains in the war on dengue and other diseases that mosquitoes carry, like malaria.One of these is the World Mosquito Program (WMP), a non-profit initiative that aims to protect the global community from mosquito-borne viral diseases, by deploying a natural ... |
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Dengue Infections Can Be Sharply Reduced With Wolbachia BacteriaJ. Stone, Medscape, 2021.
A modestly titled new study released in the New England Journal of Medicine belies the extraordinary 77% protective efficacy reported for preventing dengue infections with Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. A cluster-randomized clinical trial, the AWED ("Applying ... |
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Making mosquitoes to fight mosquitoes to prevent dengueA. George, Times of India, 2021.
In 2017, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted that the national capitl needed to be made mosquito-free. The same year, his Kerala counterpart, Pinaray Vijayan, called a three-day state-wide cleanliness drive as hospitals filled with genue patients. |
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Stable high-density and maternally inherited Wolbachia infections in Anopheles moucheti and Anopheles demeilloni mosquitoesT. Walker, S. Quek, C. L. Jeffries, J. Bandibabone, V. Dhokiya, R. Bamou, M. Kristan, L. A. Messenger, A. Gidley, E. A. Hornett, E. R. Anderson, C. Cansado-Utrilla, S. Hegde, C. Bantuzeko, J. C. Stevenson, N. F. Lobo, S. C. Wagstaff, C. A. Nkondjio, S. R., Current Biology, 31:2310. 2021.
Wolbachia, a widespread bacterium that can reduce pathogen transmission in mosquitoes, has recently been reported to be present in Anopheles (An.) species. In wild populations of the An. gambiae complex, the primary vectors of Plasmodium malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa, Wolbachia ... |
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Using Wolbachia to Eliminate Dengue: Will the Virus Fight Back?M. Edenborough Kathryn, A. Flores Heather, P. Simmons Cameron, E. Fraser Johanna and C. Pierson Ted, Journal of Virology, 95:e02203-20. 2021.
Recent fieldtrials havedemonstratedthatdengue incidence can besubstantially reduced by introgressing strains of the endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia into Aedes aegypti mosquito populations. This strategy relies on Wolbachia reducing the susceptibility of Ae. aegypti to ... |
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Dengue Fever Cut Down by 77% With Groundbreaking Bacteria-Armed MosquitoesM. Davis, The Science Times, 2021.
Scientists found that dengue fever cases have decreased by 77% in a groundbreaking trial that took place in Yogyakarta City, Indonesia. They used Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes that reduced their ability to spread the dengue fever. The team at the World Mosquito Program said that ... |
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Mosquito ‘bacteria hack’ nearly eliminates dengue fever and could save millions of livesA. Wilkins, METRO, 2021.
Mosquitoes infected with a ‘miraculous’ bacteria have been shown to reduce dengue fever cases by 77%, in a groundbreaking new study. Scientists released mosquitoes infected with ‘Wolbachia’ bacteria into the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta – but only in certain zones. In ... |
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‘Miraculous’ mosquito hack cuts dengue by 77%J. Gallagher, BBC, 2021.
Dengue fever cases have been cut by 77% in a "groundbreaking" trial that manipulates the mosquitoes that spread it, say scientists. They used mosquitoes infected with "miraculous" bacteria that reduce the insect's ability to spread dengue. The trial took place in Yogyakarta city, ... |
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Modified mosquitoes reduce dengue cases by 77% in Indonesia experimentM. Fox, CNN, 2021.
An experiment to infect mosquitoes with bacteria that stop them from transmitting viruses appears to have helped reduced the spread of deadly dengue virus in Indonesia, researchers reported Wednesday. The modified mosquitoes thrived for three years, and cases of dengue were ... |
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Efficacy of Wolbachia-Infected Mosquito Deployments for the Control of DengueA. Utarini, C. Indriani, R. A. Ahmad, W. Tantowijoyo, E. Arguni, M. R. Ansari, E. Supriyati, D. S. Wardana, Y. Meitika, I. Ernesia, I. Nurhayati, E. Prabowo, B. Andari, B. R. Green, L. Hodgson, Z. Cutcher, E. Rancès, P. A. Ryan, S. L. O’Neill, S. M. Dufau, New England Journal of Medicine, 384:2177-2186. 2021.
BACKGROUND Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with the wMel strain of Wolbachia pipientis are less susceptible than wild-type A. aegypti to dengue virus infection. METHODS We conducted a cluster-randomized trial involving releases of wMel-infected A. aegypti mosquitoes for the ... |
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A Pivotal Mosquito Experiment Could Not Have Gone BetterE. Yong, The Atlantic, 2021.
The World Mosquito Program (WMP), a nonprofit that pioneered this technique, had run small pilot studies in Australia that suggested it could work. Utarini, who co-leads WMP Yogyakarta, has now shown conclusively that it does. Her team released Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes in ... |
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Mosquitoes armed with virus-fighting bacteria sharply curb dengue infections, hospitalizationsK. Servick, Science, 2021.
A strategy for fighting dengue fever with bacteria-armed mosquitoes has passed its most rigorous test yet: a large, randomized, controlled trial. Researchers reported today dramatic reductions in rates of dengue infection and hospitalization in areas of an Indonesian city where ... |
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Study demonstrates ‘exciting potential’ of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes to control dengueG. Gallagher, Healio, 2021.
The release of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes led to a 77% reduction in the incidence of symptomatic dengue in an Indonesian city, according to researchers, who said the same approach could be used to fight other mosquito-borne diseases. The study tested a strain of Wolbachia ... |
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Vector control: Discovery of Wolbachia in malaria vectorsP. A. Ross and A. A. Hoffmann, Current Biology, 31:R738-R740. 2021.
Wolbachia bacteria are being widely released for suppression of dengue transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. Walker, Quek, Jeffries and colleagues present robust evidence for natural Wolbachia infections in malaria-vectoring Anopheles mosquitoes, paving the way for new ... |
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Living in the endosymbiotic world of Wolbachia: A centennial reviewR. Kaur, J. D. Shropshire, K. L. Cross, B. Leigh, A. J. Mansueto, V. Stewart, S. R. Bordenstein and S. R. Bordenstein, Cell Host and Microbe, 29:879-893. 2021.
The most widespread intracellular bacteria in the animal kingdom are maternally inherited endosymbionts of the genus Wolbachia. Their prevalence in arthropods and nematodes worldwide and stunning arsenal of parasitic and mutualistic adaptations make these bacteria a biological ... |
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Mechanistically comparing reproductive manipulations caused by selfish chromosomes and bacterial symbiontsE. Dalla Benetta, O. S. Akbari and P. M. Ferree, Heredity, 126:707-716. 2021.
Insects naturally harbor a broad range of selfish agents that can manipulate their reproduction and development, often leading to host sex ratio distortion. Such effects directly benefit the spread of the selfish agents. These agents include two broad groups: bacterial symbionts ... |
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Modeling and analysis of the implementation of the Wolbachia incompatible and sterile insect technique for mosquito population suppression.B. Zheng, J. S. Yu and J. Li, Siam Journal on Applied Mathematics, 81:718-740. 2021.
Mathematical analysis may offer guidance in designing effective mass release strategies for the area-wide application of this Wolbachia incompatible and sterile insect technique in the future. The two most crucial concerns in designing release strategies are how often and in what ... |
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Evidence for natural hybridization and novel Wolbachia strain superinfections in the Anopheles gambiae complex from GuineaC. L. Jeffries, C. Cansado-Utrilla, A. H. Beavogui, C. Stica, E. K. Lama, M. Kristan, S. R. Irish and T. Walker, Royal Society Open Science, 8:18. 2021.
Wolbachia, a widespread bacterium which can influence mosquito-borne pathogen transmission, has recently been detected within Anopheles (An.) species that are malaria vectors in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although studies have reported Wolbachia strains in the An. gambiae complex, ... |
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When More is Less: Mosquito Population Suppression Using Sterile, Incompatible and Genetically Modified Male MosquitoesS. L. Dobson, Journal of Medical Entomology, 58:1980-1986. 2021.
The current review of the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) is motivated by new technologies and the recent renaissance of male release field trials, which is driving an evolution in mosquito control and regulation. Practitioners that are releasing male mosquitoes would do well to ... |
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Number of Project Wolbachia mosquitoes released is constantly reviewed to maintain suppression of dengue: NEAN. L. Ching, today, 2021.
Project Wolbachia – Singapore has yielded promising results so far.Releases of non-biting male Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes have suppressed the urban Aedes aegypti mosquito populations in study sites at Tampines and Yishun by up to 90 per cent, and we have observed 58 to 74 per ... |
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Genetic Biocontrol WebinarsDavid O'Brochta and Hector Quemada, GeneConvene Global Collaborative, 2021.
In the mid 20th century various ideas emerged concerning how genetics and genetic principles could be directly applied to age-old problems of managing insects that threaten food security and public health. This series of webinars will explore the current state-of-the-art of ... |
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How to engage communities on a large scale? Lessons from World Mosquito Program in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil [version 2; peer review: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations]G. B. Costa, R. Smithyman, S. L. O'Neill and L. A. Moreira, Gates Open Research, 2021.
Here we discuss and analyse the framework for community engagement implemented by the WMP in Brazil, during the large-scale deployment of the method in the municipalities of Niterói and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Our experience indicates that the community engagement work for ... |
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Reply to: Issues with combining incompatible and sterile insect techniquesY. Li, L. A. Baton, D. Zhang, J. Bouyer, A. G. Parker, A. A. Hoffmann, L. C. Ng, C. H. Tan and Z. Xi, Nature, 590:E3-E5. 2021.
When the aim is elimination of the target population, Uni-CI and Bi-CI do not have appreciably different risks of population replacement. The small-scale field trial8 cited by Moretti and Calvitti in their Comment1 does not provide evidence that Bi-CI protects against population ... |
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Issues with combining incompatible and sterile insect techniquesR. Moretti and M. Calvitti, Nature, 590:E1-E2. 2021.
In a recent paper, Zheng at al.1 performed field experiments that tested a strategy of mosquito suppression based on the release of functionally sterile males produced by the combination of reproductive unidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility (which is induced by the bacterium ... |
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Project Wolbachia: Residents are killing the ‘helpful’ mosquitoes, which can be a nuisanceT. J. Cheng, today, 2021.
In 2019, Dr Amy Khor, then Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources, said that there was a 90 per cent suppression rate at study sites in Tampines and Yishun from February to November that year. However, certain public housing estates under the project ... |
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GeneConvene Webinar Series on: Genetic BiocontrolDavid O'Brochta and Hector Quemada, 2021.
In the mid 20th century various ideas emerged concerning how genetics and genetic principles could be directly applied to age-old problems of managing insects that threaten food security and public health. This series of webinars will explore the current state-of-the-art of what ... |
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Next-generation tools to control biting midge populations and reduce pathogen transmissionP. Shults, L. W. Cohnstaedt, Z. N. Adelman and C. Brelsfoard, Parasites and Vectors, 14:31. 2021.
Biting midges of the genus Culicoides transmit disease-causing agents resulting in a significant economic impact on livestock industries in many parts of the world. Localized control efforts, such as removal of larval habitat or pesticide application, can be logistically ... |
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Genetic pest management and the background genetics of release strainsP. T. Leftwich, L. G. Spurgin, T. Harvey-Samuel, C. J. E. Thomas, L. C. Paladino, M. P. Edgington and L. Alphey, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 376:20190805. 2020.
We discuss issues around strain selection and the potential consequences of such introgression. We conclude that such introgression is probably harmless in almost all circumstances, and could, in theory, provide specific additional benefits to the release programme. We outline ... |
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Wolbachia strain wAlbB maintains high density and dengue inhibition following introduction into a field population of Aedes aegyptiN. A. Ahmad, M.-V. Mancini, T. H. Ant, J. Martinez, G. M. R. Kamarul, W. A. Nazni, A. A. Hoffmann and S. P. Sinkins, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 376:20190809. 2020.
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 ... |
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Modelling the Wolbachia incompatible insect technique: strategies for effective mosquito population eliminationD. E. Pagendam, B. J. Trewin, N. Snoad, S. A. Ritchie, A. A. Hoffmann, K. M. Staunton, C. Paton and N. Beebe, BMC Biology, 18:13. 2020.
We introduce a simple Markov population process model for studying mosquito populations subjected to a Wolbachia-IIT programme which exhibit an unstable equilibrium threshold. The model is used to study, in silico, scenarios that are likely to yield a successful elimination ... |
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Reply to: “Enhancement of Aedes aegypti susceptibility to dengue by Wolbachia is not supported”C. Souto-Maior, J. G. King, L. M. Sartori, R. Maciel-de-Freitas and M. G. M. Gomes, Nature Communications, 11:6113. 2020.
Ant et al.4 claim that concerns with the data and broader analysis make our conclusions misleading. We herein respond to their comments by demonstrating the robustness of our results to different treatments of the data, and expand our arguments for replacing currently adopted ... |
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Enhancement of Aedes aegypti susceptibility to dengue by Wolbachia is not supportedT. H. Ant, M.-V. Mancini, J. Martinez and S. P. Sinkins, Nature Communications, 11:6111. 2020.
King et al.3 used DENV infection and transmission modelling to reinterpret experimental data from two previous studies4,5. The authors claimed that wMel Wolbachia increase the mean susceptibility of Ae. aegypti to DENV, contradicting various other studies6,7,8,9,10,11,12. Here, ... |
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Vector-Focused Approaches to Curb Malaria Transmission in the Brazilian Amazon: An Overview of Current and Future Challenges and StrategiesE. M. Rocha, R. D. Katak, J. C. de Oliveira, M. D. Araujo, B. C. Carlos, R. Galizi, F. Tripet, O. Marinotti and J. A. Souza, Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, 5. 2020.
Here we present an overview on both conventional and novel promising vector-focused tools to curb malaria transmission in the Brazilian Amazon. If well designed and employed, vector-based approaches may improve the implementation of malaria-control programs, particularly in ... |
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Selfish genetic elements and male fertilityR. L. Verspoor, T. A. R. Price and N. Wedell, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 375:7. 2020.
Selfish genetic elements (SGEs) are diverse and near ubiquitous in Eukaryotes and can be potent drivers of evolution. Here, we discuss SGEs that specifically act on sperm to gain a transmission advantage to the next generation. The diverse SGEs that affect sperm often impose ... |
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Stable Introduction of Plant-Virus-Inhibiting Wolbachia into Planthoppers for Rice ProtectionJ. T. Gong, Y. Li, T. P. Li, Y. Liang, L. Hu, D. Zhang, C. Y. Zhou, C. Yang, X. Zhang, S. S. Zha, X. Z. Duan, L. A. Baton, X. Y. Hong, A. A. Hoffmann and Z. Xi, Current Biology, 30:4837-4845.e5. 2020.
Progress has been made in developing the maternally inherited endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia as a tool for protecting humans from mosquito-borne diseases. In contrast, Wolbachia-based approaches have not yet been developed for the protection of plants from insect pests and ... |
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Microbiome Innovation in Agriculture: Development of Microbial Based Tools for Insect Pest ManagementM. Qadri, S. Short, K. Gast, J. Hernandez and A. C.-N. Wong, Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 4. 2020.
This review emphasizes the potential and use of microbes in sustainable insect pest management. We first review the diverse insect traits shaped by insect-microbe associations that span nutrition, immunity, ecological interactions with natural enemy, insecticide resistance, and ... |
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Resistance to natural and synthetic gene drive systemsT. A. R. Price, N. Windbichler, R. L. Unckless, A. Sutter, J.-N. Runge, P. A. Ross, A. Pomiankowski, N. L. Nuckolls, C. Montchamp-Moreau, N. Mideo, O. Y. Martin, A. Manser, M. Legros, A. M. Larracuente, L. Holman, J. Godwin, N. Gemmell, C. Courret, A. Buc, Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 2020.
This review summarizes our current knowledge of drive resistance in both natural and synthetic gene drives. We explore how insights from naturally occurring and synthetic drive systems can be integrated to improve the design of gene drives, better predict the outcome of releases ... |
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The Evolving Arsenal Against Mosquito-Born DiseasesJ. Smith, Labiotech.eu, 2020.
As the global climate continues to warm, disease-spreading mosquitoes such as Aedes aegypti are expected to establish themselves in the US and Europe. |
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Prospects and Pitfalls: Next-Generation Tools to Control Mosquito-Transmitted DiseaseE. P. Caragata, S. Dong, Y. Dong, M. L. Simões, C. V. Tikhe and G. Dimopoulos, Annual Review of Microbiology, 74:455-475. 2020.
A diverse array of next-generation tools has been designed to eliminate mosquito populations or to replace them with mosquitoes that are less capable of transmitting key pathogens. |
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How to fight the deadly dengue virus? Make your own mosquitoesJ. Emont, Wall Street Journal, 2020.
When the bacteria-laden male mosquitoes are released into the open and mate with naturally-born females, the resultant eggs won’t hatch. |
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Non-GMO approach reduces cases of mosquito-borne dengue by 77%GM Watch, GM Watch, 2020.
A randomized field trial found that mosquitoes infected with a natural bacterium called Wolbachia reduced cases of dengue by an "extraordinary" 77%. |
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Bacteria-Laced Mosquitoes Limit Spread of DengueA. Heidt, The Scientist, 2020.
Researchers have infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes—the species responsible for passing on many diseases—with bacteria called Wolbachia with the intent of reducing the insects’ ability to pass on dengue to people. |
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Scientists infect mosquitoes with bacteria to stop the transmission of dengue fever in Indonesia, dropping infection rates by 77 percentD. Avery, Daily Mail, 2020.
The team found that dengue infections were 77 percent lower in treated neighborhoods, compared to areas not exposed to the infected insects. |
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The mosquito strategy that could eliminate dengueE. Callaway, Nature, 2020.
The study, conducted in an Indonesia city, showed that releasing mosquitoes modified to carry a bacterium called Wolbachia, which stops the insects from transmitting some viruses, led to a steep drop in cases of dengue fever. |
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Researchers Find New Approach To Control Dengue, Zika By Genetically Modifying MosquitoesN. Sharma, R. Republicworld.com, 2020.
A new study carried out in Indonesia has shown that dengue infection rates decreased in regions where the genetically modified mosquitoes were introduced. |
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Australian research takes aim at dengue, another killer virusE. Connors, Finanacial Review, 2020.
Australian researchers have teamed up with Indonesian philanthropists to strike a blow against dengue fever, the deadly disease that was a growing scourge in south-east Asia and South America long before COVID-19. |
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Australian scientists slash dengue fever in Indonesia by infecting mosquitoes with bacteriaA. Barker, ABC News, 2020.
Australian scientists may have found the secret to eradicating dengue fever, with a lengthy trial in Indonesia drastically reducing the incidence of the mosquito-borne virus. |
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Fighting mosquito-borne diseases… with mosquitoesN. Gubert and A. Baubeau, Phys Org, 2020.
For decades, researchers have scratched their heads over how to combat deadly mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever. |
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Cytoplasmic incompatibility: an autocidal mechanism for mosquito population controlV. Dev, BugBitten BMC, 2020.
Cytoplasmic incompatibility resulting in non-reciprocal fertility is a naturally occurring phenomenon, but remains unexplored to greater extent for the control of insect vector populations. This mechanism deserves priority for mosquito control and reducing disease transmission, ... |
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Modeling the suppression dynamics of Aedes mosquitoes with mating inhomogeneityM. Huang and L. Hu, Journal of Biological Dynamics, 14:656-678. 2020.
In this work, we introduce a delay differential equation model with mating inhomogeneity to discuss mosquito population suppression based on Wolbachia. Our analyses show that the wild mosquitoes could be eliminated if either the adult mortality rate exceeds the threshold δ∗A ... |
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The Biochemistry of Cytoplasmic Incompatibility Caused by Endosymbiotic BacteriaH. Chen, M. Zhang and M. Hochstrasser, Genes, 11. 2020.
Many species of arthropods carry maternally inherited bacterial endosymbionts that can influence host sexual reproduction to benefit the bacterium. The most well-known of such reproductive parasites is Wolbachia pipientis. Wolbachia are obligate intracellular ... |
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Artificial Selection Finds New Hypotheses for the Mechanism of Wolbachia-Mediated Dengue Blocking in MosquitoesS. A. Ford, I. Albert, S. L. Allen, S. F. Chenoweth, M. Jones, C. Koh, A. Sebastian, L. T. Sigle and E. A. McGraw, Frontiers in Microbiology, 11:1456. 2020.
We recently used experimental evolution to reveal that Wolbachia-mediated dengue blocking could be selected upon in the A. aegypti host and showed evidence that strong levels of blocking could be maintained by natural selection. In this study, we investigate the genetic variation ... |
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Detecting the population dynamics of an autosomal sex ratio distorter transgene in malaria vector mosquitoesP. Pollegioni, A. R. North, T. Persampieri, A. Bucci, R. L. Minuz, D. A. Groneberg, T. Nolan, P. A. Papathanos, A. Crisanti and R. Muller, Journal of Applied Ecology, 11. 2020.
A sex-distorting autosomal transgene has been developed recently in G3 mosquitoes, a laboratory strain of the malaria vectorAnopheles gambiaes.l. Following the World Health Organization guidance framework for the testing of GM mosquitoes, we assessed the dynamics of this ... |
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Genetic Biocontrol – An OverviewGeneConvene Global Collaborative,, GeneConvene Global Collaborative, 2020.This video explains what genetic biocontrol is and surveys various technologies that can be consider genetic biocontrol technologies. It offers a conceptual organization of the various technologies based on the potential of genetic biocontrol organisms to persist and spread in ... |
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Mosquito-Borne Diseases Emergence/Resurgence and How to Effectively Control It BiologicallyH. Dahmana and O. Mediannikov, Pathogens, 9:26. 2020.
Deadly pathogens and parasites are transmitted by vectors and the mosquito is considered the most threatening vector in public health, transmitting these pathogens to humans and animals. We are currently witnessing the emergence/resurgence in new regions/populations of the most ... |
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Can we kill the dreaded mosquito? Do we even want to?Stacey McKenna, Sierra, 2020.
As a major vector for disease, the mosquito has harmed more human beings than just about any other animal, and a changing climate is only boosting those numbers. As the range of disease-carrying species of mosquitoes expands, so does their ability to transmit the parasites and ... |
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Selfish genes and sexual selection: the impact of genomic parasites on host reproductionN. Wedell, Journal of Zoology, 311:1-12. 2020.Selfish genetic elements (SGEs) such as replicating mobile elements, segregation distorters and maternally inherited endosymbionts, bias their transmission success relative to the rest of the genome to increase in representation in subsequent generations. As such, they generate ... |
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Efficient production of male Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes enables large-scale suppression of wild populationsJ. E. Crawford, D. W. Clarke, V. Criswell, M. Desnoyer, D. Cornel, B. Deegan, K. Gong, K. C. Hopkins, P. Howell, et al., Nature Biotechnology, 38:482-492. 2020.
The range of the mosquito Aedes aegypti continues to expand, putting more than two billion people at risk of arboviral infection. The sterile insect technique (SIT) has been used to successfully combat agricultural pests at large scale, but not mosquitoes, mainly because of ... |
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The potential cost-effectiveness of controlling dengue in Indonesia using wMel Wolbachia released at scale: a modelling studyO. J. Brady, D. D. Kharisma, N. N. Wilastonegoro, K. M. Reilly, E. Hendricx, L. S. Bastos, L. Yakob and D. S. Shepard, medRxiv, 2020.01.11.20017186. 2020.
Wolbachia releases in high density urban areas is expected to be highly cost-effective and could potentially be the first cost saving intervention for dengue. Sites with strong public health infrastructure, fiscal capacity, and community support should be prioritized. |
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Wolbachia transinfections in Culex quinquefasciatus generate cytoplasmic incompatibilityT. H. Ant, C. Herd, F. Louis, A. B. Failloux and S. P. Sinkins, Insect Molecular Biology, 29:1-8. 2020.
Culex quinquefasciatus is an important mosquito vector of a number of viral and protozoan pathogens of humans and animals, and naturally carries the endosymbiont Wolbachia pipientis, strain wPip. Wolbachia are used in two distinct vector control strategies: firstly, population ... |
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The toxin–antidote model of cytoplasmic incompatibility: Genetics and evolutionary implicationsBeckmann, J. F., M. Bonneau, H. Chen, M. Hochstrasser, D. Poinsot, H. Merçot, M. Weill, M. Sicard and S. Charlat, Trends in Genetics, 35:175-185. 2019.
Wolbachia bacteria inhabit the cells of about half of all arthropod species, an unparalleled success stemming in large part from selfish invasive strategies. Cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), whereby the symbiont makes itself essential to embryo viability, is the most common of ... |
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Malaysia Wolbachia trials: Battling dengue and other mosquito-borne viruses2019. |
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Establishment of Wolbachia Strain wAlbB in Malaysian Populations of Aedes aegypti for Dengue ControlW. A. Nazni, A. A. Hoffmann, A. NoorAfizah, Y. L. Cheong, M. V. Mancini, N. Golding, G. M. R. Kamarul, M. A. K. Arif, H. Thohir, H. NurSyamimi, M. Z. ZatilAqmar, M. NurRuqqayah, A. NorSyazwani, A. Faiz, F.-R. M. N. Irfan, S. Rubaaini, N. Nuradila, N. M. N, Current Biology, 29:4241-4248.e5. 2019.
Dengue has enormous health impacts globally. A novel approach to decrease dengue incidence involves the introduction of Wolbachia endosymbionts that block dengue virus transmission into populations of the primary vector mosquito, Aedes aegypti. The wMel Wolbachia strain has ... |
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Incompatible and sterile insect techniques combined eliminate mosquitoesX. Zheng, D. Zhang, Y. Li, C. Yang, Y. Wu, X. Liang, Y. Liang, X. Pan, L. Hu, Q. Sun, X. Wang, Y. Wei, J. Zhu, W. Qian, Z. Yan, A. G. Parker, J. R. L. Gilles, K. Bourtzis, J. Bouyer, M. Tang, B. Zheng, J. Yu, J. Liu, J. Zhuang, Z. Hu, M. Zhang, J.-T. Gon, 572, 56-61. 2019.
Here we show that combining incompatible and sterile insect techniques (IIT–SIT) enables near elimination of field populations of the world’s most invasive mosquito species, Aedes albopictus. Millions of factory-reared adult males with an artificial triple-Wolbachia infection ... |
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Engineered resistance to Zika virus in transgenic Aedes aegypti expressing a polycistronic cluster of synthetic small RNAsBuchman, AG, S.; Li, M.; Antoshechkin, I.; Li, H. H.; Wang, H. W.; Chen, C. H.; Klein, M. J.; Duchemin, J. B.; Paradkar, P. N.; Akbari, O. S., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116:3656-3661. 2019.
Recent Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreaks have highlighted the necessity for development of novel vector control strategies to combat arboviral transmission, including genetic versions of the sterile insect technique, artificial infection with Wolbachia to reduce population size and/or ... |
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The toxin–antidote model of cytoplasmic incompatibility: Genetics and evolutionary implicationsBeckmann, JFB, Manon; Chen, Hongli; Hochstrasser, Mark; Poinsot, Denis; Merçot, Hervé; Weill, Mylène; Sicard, Mathieu; Charlat, Sylvain, Trends in Genetics, 35:175-185. 2019.
Wolbachia bacteria inhabit the cells of about half of all arthropod species, an unparalleled success stemming in large part from selfish invasive strategies. Cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), whereby the symbiont makes itself essential to embryo viability, is the most common of ... |
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Two-By-One model of cytoplasmic incompatibility: Synthetic recapitulation by transgenic expression of cifA and cifB in DrosophilaShropshire, JDB, S. R., PLOS Genetics, 15:e1008221. 2019.
Wolbachia are maternally inherited bacteria that infect arthropod species worldwide and are deployed in vector control to curb arboviral spread using cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). CI kills embryos when an infected male mates with an uninfected female, but the lethality is ... |
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One prophage WO gene rescues cytoplasmic incompatibility in Drosophila melanogasterShropshire, J. D., J. On, E. M. Layton, H. Zhou and S. R. Bordenstein, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115:4987. 2018.
The World Health Organization recommended pilot deployment of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes to curb viral transmission to humans. Releases of mosquitoes are underway worldwide because Wolbachia can block replication of these pathogenic viruses and deterministically spread by a ... |
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Evolutionary genetics of cytoplasmic incompatibility genes cifA and cifB in prophage WO of WolbachiaLindsey, A. R. I., D. W. Rice, S. R. Bordenstein, A. W. Brooks, S. R. Bordenstein and I. L. G. Newton, Genome Biology and Evolution, 10:434-451. 2018.
The bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia manipulates arthropod reproduction to facilitate its maternal spread through host populations. The most common manipulation is cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI): Wolbachia-infected males produce modified sperm that cause embryonic mortality, ... |
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Rapid comeback of males: evolution of male-killer suppression in a green lacewing populationHayashi, MN, M.; Kageyama, D., Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 285:6. 2018.
Evolutionary theory predicts that the spread of cytoplasmic sex ratio distorters leads to the evolution of host nuclear suppressors, although there are extremely few empirical observations of this phenomenon. Here, we demonstrate that a nuclear suppressor of a cytoplasmic male ... |
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Genetics and genomics of an unusual selfish sex ratio distortion in an insectHamilton, PTH, C. N.; Curtis, C. I.; Perlman, S. J., Current Biology, 28:3864-3870. 2018.
Diverse selfish genetic elements have evolved the ability to manipulate reproduction to increase their transmission, and this can result in highly distorted sex ratios [1]. Indeed, one of the major explanations for why sex determination systems are so dynamic is because they are ... |
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SCIENTIFIC OPINION: In response to the referral of 12 October 2015 concerning use of genetically modified mosquitoes for vector controlHigh Council for Biotechnology, High Council for Biotechnology (France), 2017.
The Scientific Committee’s opinion describes emerging vector control techniques using GM mosquitoes, the current state of research into and development of these techniques and the outcomes of initial experiments worldwide. To date, only one technique has been developed to an ... |
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A Wolbachia deubiquitylating enzyme induces cytoplasmic incompatibilityBeckmann, J. F., J. A. Ronau and M. Hochstrasser, Nature Microbiology, 2:17007. 2017.
Wolbachia are obligate intracellular bacteria1 that infect arthropods, including approximately two-thirds of insect species2. Wolbachia manipulate insect reproduction by enhancing their inheritance through the female germline. The most common alteration is cytoplasmic ... |
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Genetic conflicts: the usual suspects and beyondMcLaughlin, RNM, H. S., Journal of Experimental Biology, 220:6-17. 2017.
Selfishness is pervasive and manifests at all scales of biology, from societies, to individuals, to genetic elements within a genome. The relentless struggle to seek evolutionary advantages drives perpetual cycles of adaptation and counter-adaptation, commonly referred to as Red ... |
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Advances in vector control science: Rear-and-release strategies show promise… but don’t forget the basicsRitchie, SAJ, B. J., Journal of Infectious Diseases, 215:S103-S108. 2017.
Both chikungunya and Zika viruses have recently swept from Africa across the Pacific to the Americas, causing major outbreaks of disease in humans. In the meantime, dengue epidemics continue throughout the tropics. Traditional vector control programs based on strategies from ... |
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TSETSE GENETICS: Contributions to Biology, Systematics, and Control of Tsetse FliesR. H. Gooding and E. S. Krafsur, Annual Review of Entomology, 50:101-123. 2005.
Tsetse flies (Diptera: Glossinidae) constitute a small, ancient taxon of exclusively hematophagous insects that reproduce slowly and viviparously. Because tsetse flies are the only vectors of pathogenic African trypanosomes, they are a potent and constant threat to humans and ... |
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To what extent do different types of sex ratio distorters interfere?Engelstadter, JM, H.; Hurst, G. D. D., Evolution, 58:2382-2386. 2004.
Within the Diptera, two different selfish genetic elements are known to cause the production of female-biased sex ratios: maternally inherited bacteria that kill male zygotes (male-killers), and X chromosomes causing the degeneration of Y-bearing sperm in males (meiotic drive). ... |
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Persistence of an extreme sex-ratio bias in a natural populationDyson, EAH, G. D. D., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 101:6520-6523. 2004.
The sex ratio is a key parameter in the evolution and ecology of a species. Selfish genetic elements that bias the sex ratio of affected individuals are well known and characterized, but their effect on populations has been considered limited, because either the element does not ... |
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Wolbachia as a possible means of driving genes into populationsCurtis, CFS, S. P., Parasitology, 116:S111-S115. 1998.
Cytoplasmic incompatibility consists of sterility in cross matings, the crossing type being maternally inherited. It can be explained by the action of Wolbachia symbionts which are transmitted through the egg cytoplasm and leave an imprint on the sperm which prevents it ... |
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Population replacement in Culex-fatigans by means of cytoplasmic incompatibility .2. Field cage experiments with overlapping generationsC. F. Curtis, Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 53:107-119. 1976.
Three experiments were carried out in field cages to test the principle of " transport" of a desirable gene or chromosome into a wild Culex fatigans population as a result of the sterility in cross-matings associated with cytoplasmic incompatibility. Cycling populations of Delhi ... |
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Eradication of Culex pipiens fatigans through cytoplasmic incompatibility.H. Laven, Nature, 216:383. 1967.
Culex pipiens fatigans is the chief vector of filariasis in south-east Asia. Urbanization has often caused the numbers of this mosquito-and with it the danger of filariasis infection-to increase alarmingly. The natural vigour, tolerance and fast development of resistance to ... |
