Stability of the wMel Wolbachia Infection following Invasion into Aedes aegypti Populations

Abstract

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. While the Wolbachia infection always remained high and near fixation in both locations, there was a persistent low frequency of uninfected mosquitoes. These uninfected mosquitoes showed weak spatial structure at both re..