Journal article

Using Wolbachia-based release for suppression of Aedes mosquitoes: insights from genetic data and population simulations

Gordana Rasic, Nancy M Endersby, Craig Williams, Ary A Hoffmann

ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS | WILEY | Published : 2014

Abstract

A novel strategy for suppressing disease transmission by Aedes aegypti, the main vector of dengue, uses releases of mosquitoes infected with the bacterium Wolbachia pipientis. Wolbachia are currently released to interfere with viral transmission, but there is also potential to use strains in mosquito suppression and elimination programs via the deleterious effects of the bacterium on the host. Mosquito suppression depends on target areas being relatively isolated to prevent reinvasion and on local climatic conditions. Here we explored the opportunity for suppression of A. aegypti in central Queensland, Australia, by using microsatellite data and simulations based on CIMSiM models of local we..

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Grants

Funding Acknowledgements

This work is funded by grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council and a fellowship to A. A. Hoffmann from Australian Research Council. The authors thank Nigel Beebe for providing mosquito samples, Anjali Goundar for optimizing the microsatellite PCR protocol, and Gina Mincham for creating location files in CIMSiM. We also thank two anonymous reviewers for the constructive comments on an earlier version of the manuscript.