Prevalence and molecular characterization of Wolbachia in field-collected Aedes albopictus, Anopheles sinensis, Armigeres subalbatus, Culex pipiens and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus in China

Abstract

Wolbachia are maternally transmitted intracellular bacteria that can naturally and artificially infect arthropods and nematodes. Recently, they were applied to control the spread of mosquito-borne pathogens by causing cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) between germ cells of females and males. The ability of Wolbachia to induce CI is based on the prevalence and polymorphism of Wolbachia in natural populations of mosquitoes. In this study, we screened the natural infection level and diversity of Wolbachia in field-collected mosquitoes from 25 provinces of China based on partial sequence of Wolbachia surface protein (wsp) gene and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Among the samples, 2489 mosquitoes were captured from 24 provinces between July and September, 2014 and the remaining 1025 mosquitoes were collected month-by-month in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province between September 2013 and August 2014. Our results showed that the presence of Wolbachia was observed in mosquitoes of Aedes albopictus (97.1%, 331/341), Armigeres subalbatus (95.8%, 481/502), Culex pipiens (87.0%, 1525/1752), Cx. tritaeniorhynchus (17.1%, 14/82), but not Anopheles sinensis (n = 88). Phylogenetic analysis indicated that high polymorphism of wsp and MLST loci was observed in Ae. albopictus mosquitoes, while no or low polymorphisms were in Ar. subalbatus and Cx. pipiens mosquitoes. A total of 12 unique mutations of deduced amino acid were identified in the wsp sequences obtained in this study, including four mutations in Wolbachia supergroup A and eight mutations in supergroup B. This study revealed the prevalence and polymorphism of Wolbachia in mosquitoes in large-scale regions of China and will provide some useful information when performing Wolbachia-based mosquito biocontrol strategies in China.

Prevalence of Wolbachia endosymbiont in Culex molestus mosquitoes from South Korea

“…molestus mosquitoes in South Korea, thus expanding the knowledge of Wolbachia distribution in mosquito populations. This finding aligns with previous studies that have identified Wolbachia in diverse mosquito species (Moreira et al 2009;Atyame et al 2011aAtyame et al , 2011bYang et al 2021). It highlighted the ubiquitous nature of Wolbachia and the need to assess its prevalence and diversity in various geographical regions.…”

“…pipiens and 26 out of 48 larvae collected in Belgium, which also supports the generally high prevalence of Wolbachia in this species. Yang et al (2021) Note: Presence (+) or absence (À) of each marker is also indicated with light green or red color respectively. The total number is also given underneath the table.…”

“…The use of Wolbachia, an intracellular bacterium that can inhibit the replication and transmission of several mosquito-borne viruses, has emerged as a promising strategy for controlling the spread of these diseases (Hoffmann et al 2011;Walker et al 2011). Wolbachia infects a wide range of arthropods (Hilgenboecker et al 2008;Zug & Hammerstein 2012), including mosquitoes such as Aedes albopictus, Culex pipiens, Culex tritaeniorhynchus, and Armigeres subalbatus (Yang et al 2021) and can manipulate the host's reproductive biology to increase its own transmission (Werren et al 2008). In addition to its potential use in disease control, Wolbachia has also been studied for its impact on mosquito population dynamics and evolution (Calvitti et al 2012).…”

“…2008; Zug & Hammerstein 2012), including mosquitoes such as Aedes albopictus , Culex pipiens , Culex tritaeniorhynchus , and Armigeres subalbatus (Yang et al . 2021) and can manipulate the host's reproductive biology to increase its own transmission (Werren et al . 2008).…”

Metatranscriptomic Sequencing Reveals Host Species as an Important Factor Shaping the Mosquito Virome

“…Despite this, little is known about how the ecology of hosts impacts Wolbachia diversity. We found Wolbachia in all libraries, once again indicating the prevalence of Wolbachia in mosquitoes in China ( 25 ). However, there was a large discrepancy in the genetic diversity and abundance of Wolbachia between different mosquito populations.…”