Colonized Aedes albopictus and its sexual performance in the wild: implications for SIT technology and containment

Abstract

BackgroundMating is a physiological process of crucial importance underlying the size and maintenance of mosquito populations. In sterile and incompatible insect technologies (SIT and IIT), mating is essential for mass production, persistence, and success of released individuals, and is a central parameter for judging the effectiveness of SIT/IIT programs. Some mosquitoes have an enormous reproductive potential for both themselves and pathogens and mating may contribute to persistence of infection in nature. As Aedes albopictus can transmit flaviviruses both sexually and horizontally, and as infected insects are usually derived from laboratory colonies, we investigated the implications of mating between a long-term laboratory colony of Ae. albopictus and wild populations.MethodsThrough a series of mating experiments, we examined the reproductive outcomes of sexual cross-affinity between laboratory-raised and wild adults of Ae. albopictus.ResultsThe results indicated appreciable mating compatibility between laboratory-reared and wild adults, and equivalent levels of egg production among reciprocal crosses. We also observed comparable larval eclosion in lab females mated with wild males, and increased adult longevity in female offspring from wild females|×|laboratory males crosses.ConclusionsTaken together, these data suggest that Ae. albopictus can preserve its reproductive fitness over a long period of time in the laboratory environment and has valuable attributes for SIT application. These observations together with the ability to successfully inseminate heterospecific females indicate the potential of Ae. albopictus to act as an ecological barrier if non-sterilized males are massively released in areas occupied by Aedes aegypti. The observed substantial reproductive fitness combined with the capability to reproduce both, itself and viruses illustrates the potential of Ae. albopictus to pose a serious threat if infected and released accidentally.

Biological Control of Mosquito Vectors: Past, Present, and Future

“…It is worth noting that quantitative analyses of mating ethograms in mosquitoes are rare, and mainly focus on the elaborate courtships found in the genera Sabethes [150,151,152] and Wyeomyia [153]. The majority of studies investigating the sexual behaviour of medically important Aedes species just compare the insemination ability in sterilised and wild type males [154,155,156,157,158,159,160,161]. Behavioural quantification of courtship and mating events has often been excluded in sexual behaviour studies [149,162,163].…”

Declining malaria, rising of dengue and Zika virus: insights for mosquito vector control

“…In particular, the majority of the studies focused on the sexual behaviour of medically important Aedes species focused on comparisons of insemination ability in sterilized and wild males (e.g. Balestrino et al 2010;Wiwatanaratanabutr et al 2010;Boyer et al 2011;Oliva et al 2012;Bellini et al 2013;Hamady et al 2013;Moretti and Calvitti 2013;Madakacherry et al 2014), without behavioural quantification of courtship and mating events (but see Oliva et al 2013;Benelli 2015c;Benelli et al 2015). Notably, limited information is also available on the potential molecules mediating aggregation and mating dynamics in mosquitoes (Cabrera and Jaffe 2007;Fawaz et al 2014;Pitts et al 2014).…”

Development of an Alternative Low-Cost Larval Diet for Mass Rearing of Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes In Sri Lanka

“…Studies on longevity of adult males with different diet samples emphasize that the energy reserves synthesized and accumulated in the larval stages have important consequences on the longevity of adults [38]. Prolonged survival of male mosquitoes is a critical requirement for the success of IIT and SIT programmes [39]. In the current study, the experimental diet D 2 performed better than the IAEA and D 1 diets, in terms of adult male longevity.…”