A Wolbachia Symbiont in Aedes aegypti Limits Infection with Dengue, Chikungunya, and Plasmodium

Wolbachia are maternally inherited intracellular bacterial symbionts that are estimated to infect more than 60% of all insect species. While Wolbachia is commonly found in many mosquitoes it is absent from the species that are considered to be of major importance for the transmission of human pathog...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cell 2009-12, Vol.139 (7), p.1268-1278
Main Authors: Moreira, Luciano A., Iturbe-Ormaetxe, Iñaki, Jeffery, Jason A., Lu, Guangjin, Pyke, Alyssa T., Hedges, Lauren M., Rocha, Bruno C., Hall-Mendelin, Sonja, Day, Andrew, Riegler, Markus, Hugo, Leon E., Johnson, Karyn N., Kay, Brian H., McGraw, Elizabeth A., van den Hurk, Andrew F., Ryan, Peter A., O'Neill, Scott L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aedes - microbiology
Aedes - parasitology
Aedes - physiology
Aedes - virology
Aedes aegypti
Animals
Chikungunya virus - physiology
Dengue Virus - physiology
Host-Parasite Interactions
HUMDISEASE
MOLIMMUNO
Plasmodium
Plasmodium gallinaceum - physiology
Symbiosis
Wolbachia
Wolbachia - physiology
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Summary:Wolbachia are maternally inherited intracellular bacterial symbionts that are estimated to infect more than 60% of all insect species. While Wolbachia is commonly found in many mosquitoes it is absent from the species that are considered to be of major importance for the transmission of human pathogens. The successful introduction of a life-shortening strain of Wolbachia into the dengue vector Aedes aegypti that halves adult lifespan has recently been reported. Here we show that this same Wolbachia infection also directly inhibits the ability of a range of pathogens to infect this mosquito species. The effect is Wolbachia strain specific and relates to Wolbachia priming of the mosquito innate immune system and potentially competition for limiting cellular resources required for pathogen replication. We suggest that this Wolbachia-mediated pathogen interference may work synergistically with the life-shortening strategy proposed previously to provide a powerful approach for the control of insect transmitted diseases.
ISSN:0092-8674
1097-4172
DOI:10.1016/j.cell.2009.11.042