Native Wolbachia infection and larval competition stress shape fitness and West Nile virus infection in Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes

作者：Abdullah A. Alomar, Daniel W. Pérez-Ramos, Dongmin Kim, Natalie L. Kendziorski, Bradley H. Eastmond, Barry W. Alto, Eric P. Caragata · 发表于：Frontiers in Microbiology · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.3389/fmicb.2023.1138476 · 被引用次数：16 · 研究领域：Insect symbiosis and bacterial influences、Mosquito-borne diseases and control、Insect-Plant Interactions and Control

Introduction Wolbachia transinfections established in key mosquito vectors, including Aedes aegypti are typically associated with pathogen blocking—reduced susceptibility to infection with key pathogens and reduced likelihood those pathogens are transmitted to new hosts. Host-symbiont-virus interactions are less well understood in mosquitoes like Culex quinquefasciatus, which naturally harbor Wolbachia, with pathogen blocking observed in some populations but not others, potentially due to innate differences in their Wolbachia load. In nature, mosquito larvae are often subject to developmental stresses associated with larval competition, which can lead to reduced body size and differential susceptibility to arbovirus infection. Methods In this study, we sought to understand whether competition stress and Wolbachia infection in Cx. quinquefasciatus combine to impact host fitness and susceptibility to infection with West Nile virus. We reared Wolbachia-infected and uninfected Cx. quinquefasciatus larvae under three competition stress levels, increasing larval density without increasing the amount of food supplied. We then monitored larval development and survival, measured wing length and quantified Wolbachia density in adults, and then challenged mosquitoes from each treatment group orally with West Nile virus. Results and Discussion We observed that high competition stress extended development time, decreased the likelihood of eclosion, decreased body size, and increased susce...