How to translate text using browser tools
20 April 2020 Impacts of Low Temperatures on Wolbachia (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae)-Infected Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)
Meng-Jia Lau, Perran A. Ross, Nancy M. Endersby-Harshman, Ary A. Hoffmann
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

In recent decades, the occurrence and distribution of arboviral diseases transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes has increased. In a new control strategy, populations of mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia are being released to replace existing populations and suppress arboviral disease transmission. The success of this strategy can be affected by high temperature exposure, but the impact of low temperatures on Wolbachia-infected Ae. aegypti is unclear, even though low temperatures restrict the abundance and distribution of this species. In this study, we considered low temperature cycles relevant to the spring season that are close to the distribution limits of Ae. aegypti, and tested the effects of these temperature cycles on Ae. aegypti, Wolbachia strains wMel and wAlbB, and Wolbachia phage WO. Low temperatures influenced Ae. aegypti life-history traits, including pupation, adult eclosion, and fertility. The Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes, especially wAlbB, performed better than uninfected mosquitoes. Temperature shift experiments revealed that low temperature effects on life history and Wolbachia density depended on the life stage of exposure. Wolbachia density was suppressed at low temperatures but densities recovered with adult age. In wMel Wolbachia there were no low temperature effects specific to Wolbachia phage WO. The findings suggest that Wolbachia-infected Ae. aegypti are not adversely affected by low temperatures, indicating that the Wolbachia replacement strategy is suitable for areas experiencing cool temperatures seasonally.

© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Meng-Jia Lau, Perran A. Ross, Nancy M. Endersby-Harshman, and Ary A. Hoffmann "Impacts of Low Temperatures on Wolbachia (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae)-Infected Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)," Journal of Medical Entomology 57(5), 1567-1574, (20 April 2020). https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjaa074
Received: 3 February 2020; Accepted: 23 March 2020; Published: 20 April 2020
JOURNAL ARTICLE
8 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

KEYWORDS
Aedes aegypti
low temperature
population replacement
Wolbachia
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top