The monsoon-associated equine South African pointy mosquito 'Aedes caballus'; the first comprehensive record from southeastern Iran with a description of ecological, morphological, and molecular aspects.

The equine South African pointy vector mosquito, Aedes caballus, poses a significant threat to human health due to its capacity for transmitting arboviruses. Despite favorable climate for its existence in southeast Iran, previous records of this species in the area have indicated very low abundance. This comprehensive field and laboratory study aimed to assess its current adult population status in this region, utilizing a combination of ecological, morphological and molecular techniques.

Developing Wolbachia-based disease interventions for an extreme environment.

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes carrying self-spreading, virus-blocking Wolbachia bacteria are being deployed to suppress dengue transmission. However, there are challenges in applying this technology in extreme environments. We introduced two Wolbachia strains into Ae.

A decade of stability for wMel Wolbachia in natural Aedes aegypti populations.

Mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia endosymbionts are being released in many countries for arbovirus control. The wMel strain of Wolbachia blocks Aedes-borne virus transmission and can spread throughout mosquito populations by inducing cytoplasmic incompatibility. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes carrying wMel were first released into the field in Cairns, Australia, over a decade ago, and with wider releases have resulted in the near elimination of local dengue transmission.

Persistent deleterious effects of a deleterious Wolbachia infection.

Wolbachia are being used to reduce dengue transmission by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes around the world. To date releases have mostly involved Wolbachia strains with limited fitness effects but strains with larger fitness costs could be used to suppress mosquito populations. However, such infections are expected to evolve towards decreased deleterious effects.

Heatwaves cause fluctuations in wMel Wolbachia densities and frequencies in Aedes aegypti.

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with the wMel strain of Wolbachia are being released into natural mosquito populations in the tropics as a way of reducing dengue transmission. High temperatures adversely affect wMel, reducing Wolbachia density and cytoplasmic incompatibility in some larval habitats that experience large temperature fluctuations. We monitored the impact of a 43.

Measuring the Host-Seeking Ability of Destined for Field Release.

Host seeking is an essential process in mosquito reproduction. Field releases of modified mosquitoes for population replacement rely on successful host seeking by female mosquitoes, but host-seeking ability is rarely tested in a realistic context. We tested the host-seeking ability of female mosquitoes using a semi-field system.

Loss of cytoplasmic incompatibility in Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti under field conditions.

Wolbachia bacteria are now being introduced into Aedes aegypti mosquito populations for dengue control. When Wolbachia infections are at a high frequency, they influence the local transmission of dengue by direct virus blocking as well as deleterious effects on vector mosquito populations. However, the effectiveness of this strategy could be influenced by environmental temperatures that decrease Wolbachia density, thereby reducing the ability of Wolbachia to invade and persist in the population and block viruses.

Environmental Concentrations of Antibiotics May Diminish Wolbachia infections in Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae).

Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti (L.) mosquitoes for control of dengue transmission are being released experimentally in tropical regions of Australia, south-east Asia, and South America. To become established, the Wolbachia Hertig (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae) strains used must induce expression of cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) in matings between infected males and uninfected females so that infected females have a reproductive advantage, which will drive the infection through field populations.

Effects of Alternative Blood Sources on Infected Females within and across Generations.

bacteria have been identified as a tool for reducing the transmission of arboviruses transmitted by . Research groups around the world are now mass rearing -infected for deliberate release. We investigated the fitness impact of a crucial element of mass rearing: the blood meal required by female to lay eggs.

Maintaining Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes Infected with Wolbachia.

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes experimentally infected with Wolbachia are being utilized in programs to control the spread of arboviruses such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika. Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes can be released into the field to either reduce population sizes through incompatible matings or to transform populations with mosquitoes that are refractory to virus transmission. For these strategies to succeed, the mosquitoes released into the field from the laboratory must be competitive with native mosquitoes.

Mycobacterium ulcerans low infectious dose and mechanical transmission support insect bites and puncturing injuries in the spread of Buruli ulcer.

Addressing the transmission enigma of the neglected disease Buruli ulcer (BU) is a World Health Organization priority. In Australia, we have observed an association between mosquitoes harboring the causative agent, Mycobacterium ulcerans, and BU. Here we tested a contaminated skin model of BU transmission by dipping the tails from healthy mice in cultures of the causative agent, Mycobacterium ulcerans.

Wolbachia Infections in Aedes aegypti Differ Markedly in Their Response to Cyclical Heat Stress.

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria are currently being released for arbovirus suppression around the world. Their potential to invade populations and persist will depend on interactions with environmental conditions, particularly as larvae are often exposed to fluctuating and extreme temperatures in the field. We reared Ae.

Fitness of wAlbB Wolbachia Infection in Aedes aegypti: Parameter Estimates in an Outcrossed Background and Potential for Population Invasion.

Wolbachia endosymbionts are potentially useful tools for suppressing disease transmission by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes because Wolbachia can interfere with the transmission of dengue and other viruses as well as causing deleterious effects on their mosquito hosts. Most recent research has focused on the wMel infection, but other infections also influence viral transmission and may spread in natural populations. Here, we focus on the wAlbB infection in an Australian outbred background and show that this infection has many features that facilitate its invasion into natural populations including strong cytoplasmic incompatibility, a lack of effect on larval development, an equivalent mating success to uninfected males and perfect maternal transmission fidelity.

Stability of the wMel Wolbachia Infection following invasion into Aedes aegypti populations.

The wMel infection of Drosophila melanogaster was successfully transferred into Aedes aegypti mosquitoes where it has the potential to suppress dengue and other arboviruses. The infection was subsequently spread into two natural populations at Yorkeys Knob and Gordonvale near Cairns, Queensland in 2011. Here we report on the stability of the infection following introduction and we characterize factors influencing the ongoing dynamics of the infection in these two populations.

Assessing quality of life-shortening Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in the field based on capture rates and morphometric assessments.

Background: Recent releases have been carried out with Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with the wMelPop mosquito cell-line adapted (wMelPop-CLA) strain of Wolbachia. This infection introduced from Drosophila provides strong blockage of dengue and other arboviruses but also has large fitness costs in laboratory tests. The releases were used to evaluate the fitness of released infected mosquitoes, and (following termination of releases) to test for any effects of wMelPop-CLA on wing size and shape when mosquitoes were reared under field conditions.