The wMel Wolbachia strain blocks dengue and invades caged Aedes aegypti populations

T. Walker, P. H. Johnson, L. A. Moreira, I. Iturbe-Ormaetxe, F. D. Frentiu, C. J. McMeniman, Y. S. Leong, Y. Dong, J. Axford, P. Kriesner, A. L. Lloyd, S. A. Ritchie, S. L. O’Neill () and A. A. Hoffmann
Additional contact information
T. Walker: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland
P. H. Johnson: School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and Rehabilitative Sciences, James Cook University
L. A. Moreira: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland
I. Iturbe-Ormaetxe: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland
F. D. Frentiu: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland
C. J. McMeniman: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland
Y. S. Leong: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland
Y. Dong: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland
J. Axford: Bio21 Institute, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
P. Kriesner: Bio21 Institute, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
A. L. Lloyd: North Carolina State University
S. A. Ritchie: School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and Rehabilitative Sciences, James Cook University
S. L. O’Neill: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland
A. A. Hoffmann: Bio21 Institute, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia

Nature, 2011, vol. 476, issue 7361, 450-453

Abstract: Wolbachia used to counter dengue fever The mosquito-borne viral disease dengue fever is an increasing problem in tropical and subtropical regions. Traditional control measures aimed at reducing populations of the main transmission vector, Aedes aegypti, have had little success. Two papers in this issue report an alternative approach to mosquito population control using the bacterium Wolbachia pipientis, natural insect symbionts that facilitate their own transmission through a process called cytoplasmic incompatibility. In the first paper, Scott O'Neill and colleagues describe a Wolbachia strain derived from fruitflies that significantly reduces dengue virus carriage in mosquitoes without imposing a fitness cost. In the second paper, they demonstrate in a controlled field trial that the release of colonized mosquitoes leads to successful invasion of natural mosquito populations. These results suggest a viable strategy to control dengue fever.

Date: 2011
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DOI: 10.1038/nature10355

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