The Molecular Detection, Characterization, and Temperature Dependence of <i>Wolbachia</i> Infections in Field Populations of <i>Aedes albopictus</i> (Diptera: Culicidae) Mosquitoes in Greece

oleh: Michail Misailidis, Nikolaos Kotsiou, Aristotelis Moulistanos, Sandra Gewehr, Antonios A. Augustinos, Spiros Mourelatos, Spiros Papakostas, Elena Drosopoulou

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2024-01-01

Deskripsi

We investigated the prevalence and genetic diversity of <i>Wolbachia pipientis</i> strains in <i>Aedes albopictus</i> populations in Greece. Using a combination of PCR and Sanger sequencing techniques, we genotyped <i>Wolbachia</i> strains in 105 mosquitoes collected across eight different administrative regions in 2021. We found a high prevalence of <i>Wolbachia</i> in both male (90%) and female (97%) mosquitoes. Among the infected samples, 84% had double infections with both <i>w</i>AlbA and <i>w</i>AlbB strains, while 16% had infections with only <i>w</i>AlbB. Our comparison of the Multi-Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) profile, employing <i>gatB–coxA–hcpA–ftsZ–fbpA</i> genotyping, revealed a single MLST profile for each <i>w</i>AlbA and <i>w</i>AlbB strain in Greek populations. The same MLST profiles were also reported in populations from China, Russia, and Argentina, suggesting low levels of global diversity in <i>w</i>AlbA and <i>w</i>AlbB strains. Furthermore, our results indicated a significant association between temperature and the prevalence of single infections (<i>p</i> = 6.498 × 10<sup>−7</sup>), with higher temperatures correlating with an increased likelihood of single infections. Although male bias showed a tendency towards single infections, the effect was marginally non-significant (<i>p</i> = 0.053). These results were confirmed using a bootstrap-with-replacement analysis approach. Overall, our findings offer novel insights into the distribution and species diversity of <i>Wolbachia</i> strains in Greek <i>Ae. albopictus</i> populations, emphasizing the importance of understanding the short-term plastic and adaptive responses of these organisms to environmental stressors and rapid climate change.