Dataset Information

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

ABSTRACT:

Background

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.

Methods/principal findings

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.

Conclusions/significance

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.

SUBMITTER: Pocquet N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8448375 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:Newly emerging or re-emerging arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) are important causes of human morbidity and mortality worldwide. Arboviruses such as Dengue (DENV), Zika (ZIKV), Chikungunya (CHIKV), and West Nile virus (WNV) have undergone extensive geographic expansion in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. In the Americas the main vectors of DENV, ZIKV, and CHIKV are mosquito species adapted to urban environments, namely Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, whereas the main vector of WNV is Culex quinquefasciatus. Given the widespread distribution in the Americas and high permissiveness to arbovirus infection, these mosquito species may play a key role in the epidemiology of other arboviruses normally associated with sylvatic vectors. Here, we test this hypothesis by determining the vector competence of Ae. aegypti, Ae. albopictus, and Cx. quinquefasciatus to Mayaro (MAYV) virus, a sylvatic arbovirus transmitted mainly by Haemagogus janthinomys that has been causing an increasing number of outbreaks in South America, namely in Brazil. Using field mosquitoes from Brazil, female mosquitoes were experimentally infected, and their competence for infection and transmission rates of MAYV was evaluated. We found consistent infection rate for MAYV in Ae. aegypti (57.5%) and Ae. albopictus (61.6%), whereas very low rates were obtained for Cx. quinquefasciatus (2.5%). Concordantly, we observed high potential transmission ability in Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus (69.5% and 71.1% respectively), in contrast to Cx. quinquefasciatus, which could not transmit the MAYV. Notably, we found that very low quantities of virus present in the saliva (undetectable by RT-qPCR) were sufficiently virulent to guarantee transmission. Although Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes are not the main vectors for MAYV, our studies suggest that these mosquitoes could play a significant role in the transmission of this arbovirus, since both species showed significant vector competence for MAYV (Genotype D), under laboratory conditions.

Project description:BackgroundFrom October 2014 to March 2015, French Polynesia experienced for the first time a chikungunya outbreak. Two Aedes mosquitoes may have contributed to chikungunya virus (CHIKV) transmission in French Polynesia: the worldwide distributed Ae. aegypti and the Polynesian islands-endemic Ae. polynesiensis mosquito.MethodsTo investigate the vector competence of French Polynesian populations of Ae. aegypti and Ae. polynesiensis for CHIKV, mosquitoes were exposed per os at viral titers of 7 logs tissue culture infectious dose 50%. At 2, 6, 9, 14 and 21 days post-infection (dpi), saliva was collected from each mosquito and inoculated onto C6/36 mosquito cells to check for the presence of CHIKV infectious particles. Legs and body (thorax and abdomen) of each mosquito were also collected at the different dpi and submitted separately to viral RNA extraction and CHIKV real-time RT-PCR.ResultsCHIKV infection rate, dissemination and transmission efficiencies ranged from 7-90%, 18-78% and 5-53% respectively for Ae. aegypti and from 39-41%, 3-17% and 0-14% respectively for Ae. polynesiensis, depending on the dpi. Infectious saliva was found as early as 2 dpi for Ae. aegypti and from 6 dpi for Ae. polynesiensis. Our laboratory results confirm that the French Polynesian population of Ae. aegypti is highly competent for CHIKV and they provide clear evidence for Ae. polynesiensis to act as an efficient CHIKV vector.ConclusionAs supported by our findings, the presence of two CHIKV competent vectors in French Polynesia certainly contributed to enabling this virus to quickly disseminate from the urban/peri-urban areas colonized by Ae. aegypti to the most remote atolls where Ae. polynesiensis is predominating. Ae. polynesiensis was probably involved in the recent chikungunya outbreaks in Samoa and the Cook Islands. Moreover, this vector may contribute to the risk for CHIKV to emerge in other Polynesian islands like Fiji, and more particularly Wallis where there is no Ae. aegypti.