Biology subjects

Cottingham, E.

Publications and source records attributed to Cottingham, E..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2021

A wAlbB Wolbachia transinfection displays stable phenotypic effects across divergent Aedes aegypti mosquito backgrounds

Aedes mosquitoes harboring intracellular Wolbachia bacteria are being released in arbovirus and mosquito control programs. With releases taking place around the world, understanding the contribution of host variation to Wolbachia phenotype is crucial. We generated a Wolbachia transinfection (wAlbBQ) in Aedes aegypti and performed backcrossing to introduce the infection into Australian or Malaysian nuclear backgrounds. Whole Wolbachia genome sequencing shows that the wAlbBQ transinfection is near-identical to the reference wAlbB genome, suggesting few changes since the infection was first introduced to Ae. aegypti over 15 years ago. However, these sequences were distinct from other available wAlbB genome sequences, highlighting the potential diversity of wAlbB in natural Ae. albopictus populations. Phenotypic comparisons demonstrate effects of wAlbB infection on egg hatch and nuclear background on fecundity and body size, but no interactions between wAlbB infection and nuclear background for any trait. The wAlbB infection was stable at high temperatures and showed perfect maternal transmission and cytoplasmic incompatibility regardless of host background. Our results demonstrate the stability of wAlbB across host backgrounds and point to its long-term effectiveness for controlling arbovirus transmission and mosquito populations.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Effects of alternative blood sources on Wolbachia infected Aedes aegypti females within and across generations

Wolbachia bacteria have been identified as a tool for reducing the transmission of arboviruses transmitted by Aedes aegypti. Research groups around the world are now mass rearing Wolbachia infected Ae. aegypti for deliberate release. We investigated the fitness impact of a crucial element of mass rearing: the blood meal required by female Ae. aegypti to lay eggs. Although Ae. aegypti almost exclusively feed on human blood, it is often difficult to use human blood in disease-endemic settings. When females were fed on sheep or pig blood rather than human blood, egg hatch rates decreased in all three lines tested (uninfected, or infected by wMel, or wAlbB Wolbachia). This finding was particularly pronounced when fed on sheep blood, although fecundity was not affected. Some of these effects persisted after an additional generation on human blood. Attempts to keep populations on sheep and pig blood sources only partly succeeded, suggesting that strong adaptation is required to develop a stably infected line on an alternative blood source. There was a decrease in Wolbachia density when Wolbachia Ae. aegypti were fed on non-human blood sources, although density was higher again in lines kept for multiple generations on the alternate sources. These findings suggest that sheep and pig blood will entail a cost when used as alternative blood sources which needs to be taken into account when considering mass release.

evolutionary biology↗