Wolbachia significantly impacts the vector competence of Aedes aegypti for Mayaro virus

Abstract Wolbachia, an intracellular endosymbiont present in up to 70% of all insect species, has been suggested as a sustainable strategy for the control of arboviruses such as Dengue, Zika and Chikungunya. As Mayaro virus outbreaks have also been reported in Latin American countries, the objective...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Thiago Nunes Pereira, Marcele Neves Rocha, Pedro Henrique Ferreira Sucupira, Fabiano Duarte Carvalho, Luciano Andrade Moreira
Format: article
Language:EN
Published: Nature Portfolio 2018
Subjects:
R
Q
Online Access:https://doaj.org/article/886aa1247bbb4fbe893f843ef437d56b
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract Wolbachia, an intracellular endosymbiont present in up to 70% of all insect species, has been suggested as a sustainable strategy for the control of arboviruses such as Dengue, Zika and Chikungunya. As Mayaro virus outbreaks have also been reported in Latin American countries, the objective of this study was to evaluate the vector competence of Brazilian field-collected Ae. aegypti and the impact of Wolbachia (wMel strain) upon this virus. Our in vitro studies with Aag2 cells showed that Mayaro virus can rapidly multiply, whereas in wMel-infected Aag2 cells, viral growth was significantly impaired. In addition, C6/36 cells seem to have alterations when infected by Mayaro virus. In vivo experiments showed that field-collected Ae. aegypti mosquitoes are highly permissive to Mayaro virus infection, and high viral prevalence was observed in the saliva. On the other hand, Wolbachia-harboring mosquitoes showed significantly impaired capability to transmit Mayaro virus. Our results suggest that the use of Wolbachia-harboring mosquitoes may represent an effective mechanism for the reduction of Mayaro virus transmission throughout Latin America.