Wolbachia are maternally inherited endosymbiotic bacteria found within many insect species.
Aedes mosquitoes experimentally infected with
Wolbachia are being released into the field for
Aedes‐borne disease control. These
Wolbachia infections induce cytoplasmic incompatibility which is used to suppress populations through incompatible matings or replace populations through the reproductive advantage provided by this mechanism. However, the presence of naturally occurring
Wolbachia in target populations could interfere with both population replacement and suppression programs depending on the compatibility patterns between strains.
Aedes aegypti were thought to not harbor
Wolbachia naturally but several recent studies have detected
Wolbachia in natural populations of this mosquito. We therefore review the evidence for natural
Wolbachia infections in
A. aegypti to date and discuss limitations of these studies. We draw on research from other mosquito species to outline the potential implications of natural
Wolbachia infections in
A. aegypti for disease control. To validate previous reports, we obtained a laboratory population of
A. aegypti from New Mexico, USA, that harbors a natural
Wolbachia infection, and we conducted field surveys in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where a natural
Wolbachia infection has also been reported. However, we were unable to detect
Wolbachia in both the laboratory and field populations. Because the presence of naturally occurring
Wolbachia in
A. aegypti could have profound implications for
Wolbachia‐based disease control programs, it is important to continue to accurately assess the
Wolbachia status of target
Aedes populations.
相似文献