Effect of repeat human blood feeding on Wolbachia density and dengue virus infection in Aedes aegypti

BACKGROUND: The introduction of the endosymbiotic bacterium, Wolbachia into Aedes aegypti populations is a novel approach to reduce disease transmission. The presence of Wolbachia limits the ability of the mosquito to transmit dengue virus (DENV) and the strength of this effect appears to correlate...

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Autore principale: Simmons, Cameron
Natura: Journal Article
Lingua:inglese
Pubblicazione: 2018
Accesso online:https://demo7.dspace.org/handle/123456789/109
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author Simmons, Cameron
author_browse Simmons, Cameron
author_facet Simmons, Cameron
author_sort Simmons, Cameron
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description BACKGROUND: The introduction of the endosymbiotic bacterium, Wolbachia into Aedes aegypti populations is a novel approach to reduce disease transmission. The presence of Wolbachia limits the ability of the mosquito to transmit dengue virus (DENV) and the strength of this effect appears to correlate with Wolbachia densities in the mosquito. There is also some evidence that Wolbachia densities may increase following the consumption of a bloodmeal. Here we have examined whether multiple blood feeds lead to increases in density or associated changes in Wolbachia-mediated blocking of DENV. METHODS: The Wolbachia infected Aedes aegypti mosquito line was used for the study. There were three treatment groups; a non-blood fed control, a second group fed once and a third group fed twice on human blood. All groups were orally infected with DENV-2 and then their midguts and salivary glands were dissected 10-11 days post infection. RNA/DNA was simultaneously extracted from each tissue and subsequently used for DENV RNA copies and Wolbachia density quantification, respectively. RESULTS: We found variation between replicate vector competence experiments and no clear evidence that Wolbachia numbers increased in either the salivary glands or remainder of the body with feeding and hence saw no corresponding improvements in DENV blocking. CONCLUSIONS: Aedes aegypti are "sip" feeders returning often to obtain bloodmeals and hence it is important to assess whether repeat blood feeding improved the efficacy of Wolbachia-based DENV blocking. Our work suggests in the laboratory context when Wolbachia densities are high that repeat feeding does not improve blocking and hence this ability should likely be stable with respect to feeding cycle in the field.
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spelling oai:localhost:123456789-1092021-04-07T16:30:07Z Effect of repeat human blood feeding on Wolbachia density and dengue virus infection in Aedes aegypti Simmons, Cameron BACKGROUND: The introduction of the endosymbiotic bacterium, Wolbachia into Aedes aegypti populations is a novel approach to reduce disease transmission. The presence of Wolbachia limits the ability of the mosquito to transmit dengue virus (DENV) and the strength of this effect appears to correlate with Wolbachia densities in the mosquito. There is also some evidence that Wolbachia densities may increase following the consumption of a bloodmeal. Here we have examined whether multiple blood feeds lead to increases in density or associated changes in Wolbachia-mediated blocking of DENV. METHODS: The Wolbachia infected Aedes aegypti mosquito line was used for the study. There were three treatment groups; a non-blood fed control, a second group fed once and a third group fed twice on human blood. All groups were orally infected with DENV-2 and then their midguts and salivary glands were dissected 10-11 days post infection. RNA/DNA was simultaneously extracted from each tissue and subsequently used for DENV RNA copies and Wolbachia density quantification, respectively. RESULTS: We found variation between replicate vector competence experiments and no clear evidence that Wolbachia numbers increased in either the salivary glands or remainder of the body with feeding and hence saw no corresponding improvements in DENV blocking. CONCLUSIONS: Aedes aegypti are "sip" feeders returning often to obtain bloodmeals and hence it is important to assess whether repeat blood feeding improved the efficacy of Wolbachia-based DENV blocking. Our work suggests in the laboratory context when Wolbachia densities are high that repeat feeding does not improve blocking and hence this ability should likely be stable with respect to feeding cycle in the field. 2018-09-14T11:14:55Z 2015-11-24T00:35:37Z 2018-09-14T11:14:55Z 2015-04-13 2015-04-13 2015-04-13 2015-04-13 2015-04-13 2015-04-13 2015-04-13 2015-04-13 2015-04-24 Journal Article https://demo7.dspace.org/handle/123456789/109 English
spellingShingle Simmons, Cameron
Effect of repeat human blood feeding on Wolbachia density and dengue virus infection in Aedes aegypti
title Effect of repeat human blood feeding on Wolbachia density and dengue virus infection in Aedes aegypti
title_full Effect of repeat human blood feeding on Wolbachia density and dengue virus infection in Aedes aegypti
title_fullStr Effect of repeat human blood feeding on Wolbachia density and dengue virus infection in Aedes aegypti
title_full_unstemmed Effect of repeat human blood feeding on Wolbachia density and dengue virus infection in Aedes aegypti
title_short Effect of repeat human blood feeding on Wolbachia density and dengue virus infection in Aedes aegypti
title_sort effect of repeat human blood feeding on wolbachia density and dengue virus infection in aedes aegypti
url https://demo7.dspace.org/handle/123456789/109
work_keys_str_mv AT simmonscameron effectofrepeathumanbloodfeedingonwolbachiadensityanddenguevirusinfectioninaedesaegypti