Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Pocquet, Nicolas
• O'Connor, Olivia
• Flores, Heather A
• Tutagata, Jordan
• Pol, Morgane
• Hooker, David J
• Inizan, Catherine
• Russet, Sylvie
• Duyvestyn, Johanna M
• Pacidônio, Etiene C
• Girault, Dominique
• da Silva Gonçalves, Daniela
• Minier, Marine
• Touzain, Frédéric
• Chalus, Elodie
• Lucien, Kevin
• Cheilan, Florie
• Derycke, Tristan
• Laumond, Sylvie
• Simmons, Cameron P
• Dupont-Rouzeyrol, Myrielle
• Rossi, Nadège
• Turell, Michael J.

Titel

Assessment of fitness and vector competence of a New Caledonia wMel Aedes aegypti strain before field-release

Ist Teil von

• PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2021-09, Vol.15 (9), p.e0009752

Ort / Verlag

United States: Public Library of Science

Erscheinungsjahr

2021

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Biological control programs involving Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti are currently deployed in different epidemiological settings. New Caledonia (NC) is an ideal location for the implementation and evaluation of such a strategy as the only proven vector for dengue virus (DENV) is Ae. aegypti and dengue outbreaks frequency and severity are increasing. We report the generation of a NC Wolbachia-infected Ae. aegypti strain and the results of experiments to assess the vector competence and fitness of this strain for future implementation as a disease control strategy in Noumea, NC. The NC Wolbachia strain (NC-wMel) was obtained by backcrossing Australian AUS-wMel females with New Caledonian Wild-Type (NC-WT) males. Blocking of DENV, chikungunya (CHIKV), and Zika (ZIKV) viruses were evaluated via mosquito oral feeding experiments and intrathoracic DENV challenge. Significant reduction in infection rates were observed for NC-wMel Ae. aegypti compared to WT Ae. aegypti. No transmission was observed for NC-wMel Ae. aegypti. Maternal transmission, cytoplasmic incompatibility, fertility, fecundity, wing length, and insecticide resistance were also assessed in laboratory experiments. Ae. aegypti NC-wMel showed complete cytoplasmic incompatibility and a strong maternal transmission. Ae. aegypti NC-wMel fitness seemed to be reduced compared to NC-WT Ae. aegypti and AUS-wMel Ae. aegypti regarding fertility and fecundity. However further experiments are required to assess it accurately. Our results demonstrated that the NC-wMel Ae. aegypti strain is a strong inhibitor of DENV, CHIKV, and ZIKV infection and prevents transmission of infectious viral particles in mosquito saliva. Furthermore, our NC-wMel Ae. aegypti strain induces reproductive cytoplasmic incompatibility with minimal apparent fitness costs and high maternal transmission, supporting field-releases in Noumea, NC.