Inhibition of Zika virus by Wolbachia in Aedes aegypti
Authors:Eric Pearce Caragata, Heverton Leandro Carneiro Dutra and Luciano Andrade Moreira
doi: 10.15698/mic2016.07.513
Volume 3, pp. 293 to 295, published 27/06/2016.
Mosquitos Vetores: Endossimbiontes e Interação Patógeno-Vetor, Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou – Fiocruz, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Keywords:
Zika virus, mosquito-transmitted disease, Aedes aegypti, Wolbachia.
Corresponding Author(s):
Conflict of interest statement:
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Please cite this article as:
Eric Pearce Caragata, Heverton Leandro Carneiro Dutra and Luciano Andrade Moreira (2016). Inhibition of Zika virus by Wolbachia in Aedes aegypti. Microbial Cell 3(7): 293-295. doi: 10.15698/mic2016.07.513
© 2016 Eric Pearce Caragata et al. This is an open-access article released under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which allows the unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are acknowledged.
Abstract:
Through association with cases of microcephaly in 2015, Zika virus (ZIKV) has transitioned from a relatively unknown mosquito-transmitted pathogen to a global health emergency, emphasizing the need to improve existing mosquito control programs to prevent future disease outbreaks. The response to Zika must involve a paradigm shift from traditional to novel methods of mosquito control, and according to the World Health Organization should incorporate the release of mosquitoes infected with the bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia pipientis. In our recent paper [Dutra, HLC et al., Cell Host & Microbe 2016] we investigated the potential of Wolbachia infections in Aedes aegypti to restrict infection and transmission of Zika virus recently isolated in Brazil. Wolbachia is now well known for its ability to block or reduce infection with a variety of pathogens in different mosquito species including the dengue (DENV), yellow fever, and chikungunya viruses, and malaria-causing Plasmodium, and consequently has great potential to control mosquito-transmitted diseases across the globe. Our results demonstrated that the wMel Wolbachia strain in Brazilian Ae. aegypti is a strong inhibitor of ZIKV infection, and furthermore appears to prevent transmission of infectious viral particles in mosquito saliva, which highlights the bacterium’s suitability for more widespread use in Zika control.