Local introduction and heterogeneous spatial spread of dengue-suppressing Wolbachia through an urban population of Aedes aegypti

Dengue-suppressing Wolbachia strains are promising tools for arbovirus control, particularly as they have the potential to self-spread following local introductions. To test this, we followed the frequency of the transinfected Wolbachia strain wMel through Ae. aegypti in Cairns, Australia, following...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	PLoS biology Vol. 15; no. 5; p. e2001894
Main Authors:	Schmidt, Tom L, Barton, Nicholas H, Rašić, Gordana, Turley, Andrew P, Montgomery, Brian L, Iturbe-Ormaetxe, Inaki, Cook, Peter E, Ryan, Peter A, Ritchie, Scott A, Hoffmann, Ary A, O'Neill, Scott L, Turelli, Michael
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States Public Library of Science 30-05-2017 Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Subjects:	Aedes - growth & development Aedes - microbiology Aedes - physiology Aedes - virology Aedes aegypti Animals Aquatic insects Biological Control Agents - isolation & purification Biology and Life Sciences Colony Collapse - microbiology Colony Collapse - virology Computer Heuristics Data collection Dengue Dengue - prevention & control Dengue - transmission Dengue - virology Dengue fever Dengue Virus - growth & development Dengue Virus - isolation & purification Dengue Virus - physiology Disease control Disease Vectors Earth Sciences Female Fitness Funding Global Health Health aspects Health Transition Heterogeneity Humans Infection Control Interpolation Male Mathematical models Medical research Medicine and Health Sciences Models, Biological Mosquitoes Parks, Recreational Physical Sciences Population Queensland Roles Software Spatial analysis Spatio-Temporal Analysis Statistical models Supervision Transformation Urban populations Urbanization Vector-borne diseases Vectors (Biology) Wolbachia Wolbachia - growth & development Wolbachia - isolation & purification Wolbachia - physiology United States > US California
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Summary:	Dengue-suppressing Wolbachia strains are promising tools for arbovirus control, particularly as they have the potential to self-spread following local introductions. To test this, we followed the frequency of the transinfected Wolbachia strain wMel through Ae. aegypti in Cairns, Australia, following releases at 3 nonisolated locations within the city in early 2013. Spatial spread was analysed graphically using interpolation and by fitting a statistical model describing the position and width of the wave. For the larger 2 of the 3 releases (covering 0.97 km2 and 0.52 km2), we observed slow but steady spatial spread, at about 100-200 m per year, roughly consistent with theoretical predictions. In contrast, the smallest release (0.11 km2) produced erratic temporal and spatial dynamics, with little evidence of spread after 2 years. This is consistent with the prediction concerning fitness-decreasing Wolbachia transinfections that a minimum release area is needed to achieve stable local establishment and spread in continuous habitats. Our graphical and likelihood analyses produced broadly consistent estimates of wave speed and wave width. Spread at all sites was spatially heterogeneous, suggesting that environmental heterogeneity will affect large-scale Wolbachia transformations of urban mosquito populations. The persistence and spread of Wolbachia in release areas meeting minimum area requirements indicates the promise of successful large-scale population transformation.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
ISSN:	1545-7885 1544-9173 1545-7885
DOI:	10.1371/journal.pbio.2001894