Detection of Wolbachia from field collected Aedes albopictus Skuse in Malaysia

Abstract

Background & objectives:Wolbachia-based vector control strategies have been proposed as a mean to augment the existing measures for controlling dengue vector. Prior to utilizing Wolbachia in novel vector control strategies, it is crucial to understand the Wolbachia-mosquito interactions. Many studies have only focused on the prevalence of Wolbachia in female Aedes albopictus with lack of attention on Wolbachia infection on the male Ae. albopictus which also affects the effective expression of Wolbachia induced- cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). In this study, field surveys were conducted to screen for the infection status of Wolbachia in female and male Ae. albopictus from various habitats including housing areas, islands and seashore.Methods:Adult Ae. albopictus (n=104) were collected using human landing catches and hand aspirator. Standard ovitraps were also set in the selected areas for five days and the larvae were identified to species level. All the collected Ae. albopictus were screened for the presence of Wolbachia using multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and gene sequencing of Wolbachia surface protein (wsp) gene.Results:A 100 per cent positivity of Wolbachia infection was observed for individual Ae. albopictus screened. For pooled mosquitoes, 73 of the 76 pools (female) and 83 of the 87 pools (male) were positive with Wolbachia infection. The wsp gene sequence of the Wolbachia strain isolated from individual and pooled mosquitoes showed a 100 per cent homology with Wolbachia sp. of Ae. albopictus isolated from various geographical regions. Phylogenetic analysis based on wsp gene fragments showed that the isolates were clustered into groups A and B, respectively.Interpretation & conclusions:The results indicated that Wolbachia infection was widespread in Ae. albopictus population both in female and male Ae. albopictus. All the infected females were superinfected with both A and B strains while the infected males showed a combination of superinfection of A and B strains and single infection of B strain.

Molecular evidence for new sympatric cryptic species of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in China: A new threat from Aedes albopictus subgroup?

“…In our study, most populations were naturally infected with two Wolbachia strains ( w AlbA and w AlbB) at high frequencies, suggesting that superinfection is common in Ae. albopictus , as observed in other studies [ 44 , 88 , 89 , 92 ]. Interestingly, a relatively low prevalence of Wolbachia was also observed in three Ae.…”

“…Populations from Guangdong, Yunnan, and many sites in Hainan Province had a 100% infection rate, followed by a 90% infection rate in Henan Province in central China. Such high prevalence of Wolbachia has also been observed in other Asian countries, including Malaysia [ 43 , 88 ], Thailand [ 89 ], India [ 90 ] and Sri Lanka [ 91 ]. In our study, most populations were naturally infected with two Wolbachia strains ( w AlbA and w AlbB) at high frequencies, suggesting that superinfection is common in Ae.…”

Exploring Changes in the Microbiota of Aedes albopictus: Comparison Among Breeding Site Water, Larvae, and Adults

“…However, we found that in one strain from La Reunion Island ( i.e. , Tampon), the prevalence was particularly low with respect to what detected in the other five strains and previously reported ( Noor Afizah et al, 2015 ). Moreover, in the Crema strain derived from eggs collected in 2016 in the same site used for this study, we found that 3% of the mosquitoes were uninfected.…”

“…We found dual infection ranging from 65 to 97%. As reported by previous studies, dual infection is mainly present in females ( Joanne et al, 2015 ; Noor Afizah et al, 2015 ; Ahmad et al, 2017 ), but in two of the strains we analyzed, namely Crema and Tampon, both Wolbachia were present with higher frequency in males. A previous study that investigated w AlbA density in wild-sampled Ae.…”

Wolbachia in Native Populations of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) From Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

“…2 ). The overall Wb infection rate (40%) found in this study lies between several field surveys around the world using field-collected specimens, which have found variable frequency rates of Wb infection ranging from 11 to 100% ( Kitrayapong et al 2002 , de Albuquerque et al 2011 , Zhang et al 2014 , Noor Afizah et al 2015 , Ahmad et al 2017 , Guo et al 2018 , Martin et al 2019 , Hu et al 2020 ).…”