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

Abstract

This study reports the results of a molecular screening for Wolbachia (Wb) infection in Aedes albopictus (Skuse) populations recently established in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. To do so, collections of free-flying adults with BG traps and emerged adults from eggs after ovitrap field collections were performed in three suburban localities of the city of Merida, Yucatan. Overall, local populations of Ae. albopictus present a natural Wb infection rate of ~40% (18 of 45). Wb infection was detected in both field-collected adults (76.5%, 13 of 17) and eggs reared (17.8%, 5 of 28) and in 37.9% (11/29) of females and 43.7% (7/16) of male Ae. albopictus mosquitoes. An initial screening for Wolbachia strain typing showed that native Ae. albopictus were naturally coinfected with both wAlbA and wAlbB strains. The knowledge of the prevalence and diversity of Wolbachia strains in local populations of Aedes mosquitoes is part of the baseline information required for current and future Wolbachia-based vector control approaches to be conducted in Mexico.

Assessing the Potential Distributions of the Invasive Mosquito Vector Aedes albopictus and Its Natural Wolbachia Infections in México

“…albopictus with two Wolbachia strains (wAlbA and wAlbB) in three suburban localities of the city of Merida, Yucatan. This latter study [28] estimated natural Wolbachia infections of 40% in local populations of Ae. albopictus.…”

“…The Asian tiger mosquito Ae. albopictus has been identified in 17 states of México [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]28,29]. This mosquito species is considered an important invasive species since it has successfully colonized many sites outside its native habitats in Asia [2].…”

“…In México, there are only three reports of Wolbachia infections in Ae. albopictus collected from different sites [26][27][28]. It is worth mentioning that these reports corresponded to the southeast region of México, specifically the Soconusco de Chiapas.…”

“…It is still necessary to validate all the areas in México with the probability of finding Wolbachia infection, mainly in the southeast of México. Interestingly, a recent study [28] identified natural coinfection of native populations of Ae. albopictus with two Wolbachia strains (wAlbA and wAlbB) in three suburban localities of the city of Merida, Yucatan.…”

Protective effect of house screening against indoor Aedes aegypti in Mérida, Mexico: A cluster randomised controlled trial

“…Briefly, each pool of female Ae . aegypti mosquitoes was initially disinfected with 70% ethanol at room temperature for 2 h. Then, samples were mechanically homogenised in 150 μl of sterile PBS1X using a sterile pestle and electric homogeniser as previously described [ 39 ]. RNA extraction was performed using a commercial QIAamp Viral RNA Mini kit (QIAGEN) following the manufacturer's instructions.…”