Lab-scale characterization and semi-field trials of Wolbachia Strain wAlbB in a Taiwan Wolbachia introgressed Ae. aegypti strain

作者：Wei‐Liang Liu, Huiying Yu, Yuxuan Chen, Chen Bo-Yu, Shiang Ning Leaw, Cheng‐Han Lin, Matthew P. Su, Ling-Shan Tsai, Yi Chen, Shin-Hong Shiao, Zhiyong Xi, Anna C.-C. Jang, Chun-Hong Chen · 发表于：PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.1371/journal.pntd.0010084 · 被引用次数：27 · 研究领域：Insect symbiosis and bacterial influences、Mosquito-borne diseases and control、Insect and Pesticide Research

Dengue fever is one of the most severe viral diseases transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, with traditional approaches of disease control proving insufficient to prevent significant disease burden. Release of Wolbachia-transinfected mosquitoes offers a promising alternative control methodologies; Wolbachia-transinfected female Aedes aegypti demonstrate reduced dengue virus transmission, whilst Wolbachia-transinfected males cause zygotic lethality when crossed with uninfected females, providing a method for suppressing mosquito populations. Although highly promising, the delicate nature of population control strategies and differences between local species populations means that controlled releases of Wolbachia-transinfected mosquitoes cannot be performed without extensive testing on specific local Ae. aegypti populations. In order to investigate the potential for using Wolbachia to suppress local Ae. aegypti populations in Taiwan, we performed lab-based and semi-field fitness trials. We first transinfected the Wolbachia strain wAlbB into a local Ae. aegypti population (wAlbB-Tw) and found no significant changes in lifespan, fecundity and fertility when compared to controls. In the laboratory, we found that as the proportion of released male mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia was increased, population suppression could reach up to 100%. Equivalent experiments in semi-field experiments found suppression rates of up to 70%. The release of different ratios of wAlbB-Tw males in the semi-fi...