There are many mosquito-borne diseases that threaten human health and well-being. Climate change and urbanization are likely to increase this threat as established mosquitoes spread to new environments.
We might be able to do the next best thing and eradicate all disease-spreading mosquitoes. For the last 10 years, we have been using a type ofbacteria called Wolbachia to reduce the ability of mosquitoes to spread a disease.
The person is to the rescue.
Half of all insect species live inside their cells. The bacteria can have a variety of effects on their hosts. When transferred to mosquitoes, thebacteria reduce the ability of many viruses to replicate inside the mosquito and be passed on to a human host.
The release of mosquitoes with the same name has caused dramatic effects on the spread of the disease. Local transmission of the disease is a thing of the past thanks to widespread mosquito release programs.
It's passed from females to all their offspring, so it can remain high in mosquito populations.
Female mosquitoes that mate with males that don't have the disease will not produce offspring. The mosquitoes that don't have a disadvantage are the unlucky ones. Most mosquitoes that survive are unlikely to pass on the disease to their offspring.
How long will the releases last?
It is important that the bacterium remains high in the mosquito population and provide ongoing protection against the disease. Our study was published earlier this year in PLoS Pathogens.
We monitored mosquito populations a decade after the first release and found that the effects on mosquitoes remained the same. There were no changes to the genome.
Our research shows that it is likely to be effective for a long time.
A strain for every situation.
We have developed new strains using a technique called microinjection, where a strain is sucked out of an egg and injected into a donor mosquito egg. If you are lucky, the mosquito that hatched will pass on its genes to the offspring.
The wMel strain is vulnerable to high temperatures, which is why it is being used widely. It's possible that the mosquito population will drop out during the hotter parts of the year and that it won't be suitable for release in some climates.
A new variant of wMel, which we call wMelM, was transferred from its original host to mosquitoes in a new study. We found that wMel is more stable than wMel at extreme temperatures.
The work along with the new preprint on the wAlbB strain shows the diversity of the strain.
We used crosses and microinjection to transfer wAlbB to both Australian and Malaysian mosquitoes.
Australian and Malaysian mosquitoes have different effects, but the same effect was seen in both groups. It is important to consider the impact of local environmental conditions, but it is also important to have confidence in the outcomes of the releases.
Beyond the city of Wolbachia.
There are many types ofbacteria that can be used to modify or control insect pests.
Our research is trying to find ways to reduce the damage caused by aphids. We are looking at more than the mosquito species that transmit the disease.
Japanese encephalitis, Ross River virus, and the Buruli ulcer are some of the nasty diseases spread by mosquitoes here, and all of them could potentially be controlled with release programs.
We need new tools to tackle the threats of mosquito-borne diseases as they continue to spread around the world.
More information: Perran A. Ross et al, A decade of stability for wMel Wolbachia in natural Aedes aegypti populations, PLOS Pathogens (2022). DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010256The Aedes aegypti variant of the Mel Wolbachia variant was collected from a field. There is a DOI of 10.1111/1462-2920.15966.
There are distinct variations of the strain wAlbB. There is a DOI: 10101/ 2022.02.25.
Stable phenotypic effects are displayed across different Aedes aegypti Mosquito Backgrounds in a paper by Perran A. Ross and colleagues. There is a book titled "10128/AEM.01264-21."
Citation: Dengue-blocking mosquitoes here to stay (2022, April 11) retrieved 11 April 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-04-dengue-blocking-mosquitoes.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
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