Display Settings:

Format

Send to:

Choose Destination
We are sorry, but NCBI web applications do not support your browser and may not function properly. More information
    Insect Biochem Mol Biol. 2005 Aug;35(8):903-10.

    Generation of a novel Wolbachia infection in Aedes albopictus (Asian tiger mosquito) via embryonic microinjection.

    Source

    Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546, USA.

    Abstract

    Genetic strategies that reduce or block pathogen transmission by mosquitoes are being investigated as a means to augment current control measures. Strategies of vector suppression and replacement are based upon intracellular Wolbachia bacteria, which occur naturally in many insect populations. Maternally inherited Wolbachia have evolved diverse mechanisms to manipulate host insect reproduction and promote infection invasion. One mechanism is cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) through which Wolbachia promotes infection spread by effectively sterilizing uninfected females. In a prior field test, releases of Wolbachia-infected males were used to suppress a field population of Culex pipiens. An additional strategy would employ Wolbachia as a vehicle to drive desired transgenes into vector populations (population replacement). Wolbachia-based population suppression and population replacement strategies require an ability to generate artificial Wolbachia associations in mosquitoes. Here, we demonstrate a technique for transferring Wolbachia (transfection) in a medically important mosquito species: Aedes albopictus (Asian tiger mosquito). Microinjection was used to transfer embryo cytoplasm from a double-infected Ae. albopictus line into an aposymbiotic line. The resulting mosquito line is single-infected with the wAlbB Wolbachia type. The artificially generated infection type is not known to occur naturally and displays a new CI crossing type and the first known example of bidirectional CI in Aedes mosquitoes. We discuss the results in relation to applied mosquito control strategies and the evolution of Wolbachia infections in Ae. albopictus.

    PMID:
    15944085
    [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
    PMCID:
    PMC1410910
    Free PMC Article

    Images from this publication.See all images (3)Free text

    Fig. 2
    Fig. 1
    Fig. 3

      Supplemental Content

      Icon for Elsevier Science Icon for PubMed Central

      Save items

      Recent activity

      Your browsing activity is empty.

      Activity recording is turned off.

      Turn recording back on

      See more...
      Write to the Help Desk