Wolbachia and Sirtuin-4 interaction is associated with alterations in host glucose metabolism and bacterial titer

Wolbachia is an intracellular bacterial symbiont of arthropods notorious for inducing many reproductive manipulations that foster its dissemination. Wolbachia affects many aspects of host biology, including metabolism, longevity and physiology, being described as a nutrient provisioning or metabolic parasite, depending on the host-microbe association. Sirtuins (SIRTs) are a family of NAD+-dependent post-translational regulatory enzymes known to affect many of the same processes altered by Wolbachia, including aging and metabolism, among others. Despite a clear overlap in control of host-derived pathways and physiology, no work has demonstrated a link between these two regulators. We used genetically tractable Drosophila melanogaster to explore the role of sirtuins in shaping signaling pathways in the context of a host-symbiont model. By using transcriptional profiling and metabolic assays in the context of genetic knockouts/over-expressions, we examined the effect of several Wolbachia strains on host sirtuin expression across distinct tissues and timepoints. We also quantified the downstream effects of the sirtuin x Wolbachia interaction on host glucose metabolism, and in turn, how it impacted Wolbachia titer. Our results indicate that the presence of Wolbachia is associated with (1) reduced sirt-4 expression in a strain-specific manner, and (2) alterations in host glutamate dehydrogenase expression and ATP levels, key components of glucose metabolism. We detected high glucose levels in Wolbachia-infected flies, which further increased when sirt-4 was over-expressed. However, under sirt-4 knockout, flies displayed a hypoglycemic state not rescued to normal levels in the presence of Wolbachia. Finally, whole body sirt-4 over-expression resulted in reduced Wolbachia ovarian titer. Our results expand knowledge of Wolbachia-host associations in the context of a yet unexplored class of host post-translational regulatory enzymes with implications for conserved host signaling pathways and bacterial titer, factors known to impact host biology and the symbiont's ability to spread through populations.Published versio

Uso da cepa wMel de Wolbachia como forma alternativa de controle do vírus Zika

Submitted by Nuzia Santos ([email protected]) on 2017-07-07T16:56:02Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Finalizada_Tese_BCM_HevertonLeandroCarneiroDutra.pdf: 5705112 bytes, checksum: 5ad746d73d94aff4c4277c6616ce204e (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Nuzia Santos ([email protected]) on 2017-07-07T17:08:54Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Finalizada_Tese_BCM_HevertonLeandroCarneiroDutra.pdf: 5705112 bytes, checksum: 5ad746d73d94aff4c4277c6616ce204e (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-07T17:08:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Finalizada_Tese_BCM_HevertonLeandroCarneiroDutra.pdf: 5705112 bytes, checksum: 5ad746d73d94aff4c4277c6616ce204e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017CAPESFundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto René Rachou. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.As doenças transmitidas por mosquitos correspondem a uma das principais causas de morbidade e mortalidade humana em áreas tropicais e subtropicais do mundo. Dentre estas, Dengue vírus (DENV) é de longe o arbovírus mais importante, causando cerca de 100 milhões de casos sintomáticos a cada ano em 125 países ao redor do mundo. Entretanto, através da recente associação com casos de desordens congênitas e neurológicas, Zika virus (ZIKV) também emergiu como uma doença transmitida por vetor, de grande importância clínica, expandindo sua presença em mais de 70 países em apenas alguns anos. Analisando-se em conjunto, o impacto na saúde humana causado por apenas estes dois vírus enfatiza a necessidade de abordagens inovadoras para controlar as populações de mosquito, especialmente Aedes aegypti, o vetor primário de ambas doenças em áreas urbanas. Dada a habilidade de reduzir ou até mesmo bloquear a infecção de uma variedade de patógenos, Wolbachia é uma estratégia promissora a qual está sendo testada contra doenças transmitidas por mosquitos. Neste trabalho, através da infecção oral das linhagens de Ae. aegypti contendo (wMel_Br) ou não (Br) Wolbachia, com dois distintos isolados de ZIKV atualmente circulantes no Brasil, nós demonstramos que a cepa wMel de Wolbachia é um forte inibidor da infecção por ZIKV, reduzindo a prevalência, intensidade, disseminação e transmissão deste vírus. Ademais, através da coinfecção destas mesmas linhagens de mosquito com dois sorotipos distintos de DENV e ZIKV (DENV-1 / ZIKV; DENV-3 / ZIKV), nós demonstramos que Wolbachia ainda interfere fortemente no desenvolvimento viral, apresentando níveis similares de inibição ao observado na mono-infecção por ZIKV, e que está infecção por Wolbachia causa a ativação de genes específicos de imunidade do hospedeiro. Finalmente, nós mostramos a existência de competição assimétrica entre os vírus, com distintos níveis de dominância. De forma geral, nossos resultados salientam o uso promissor da cepa wMel de Wolbachia como uma ferramenta limitante da transmissão de arbovírus em campo.Mosquito-transmitted diseases are one of the leading causes of human morbidity and mortality in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. Amongst these, Dengue virus (DENV) is by far the most important arboviral agent, causing around 100 million symptomatic cases a year in 125 countries worldwide. However, through recent association with cases of congenital and neurological disorders, Zika virus (ZIKV) has also emerged as a vector-borne disease of great clinical importance, expanding its presence to over 70 countries worldwide in just a few years. Taken together, the burden on human health resulting from only these two viruses emphasizes the need for new and innovative approaches for controlling mosquito populations, especially Aedes aegypti, the primary vector of both diseases in urban settings. Given its ability to reduce, or even block infection with a variety of pathogens, the bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia is a promising strategy that is currently being trialed against mosquito-transmitted diseases. Here, through orally challenging Wolbachia-infected (wMel_Br) and uninfected (Br) lineages of Ae. aegypti mosquitoes with two distinct ZIKV isolates currently circulating in Brazil, we show that the wMel strain of Wolbachia is a strong inhibitor of ZIKV infection, lowering viral prevalence, intensity, dissemination and transmission. Furthermore, by co-infecting these same mosquito lineages with two distinct DENV serotypes and ZIKV (DENV-1 / ZIKV; DENV-3 / ZIKV), we show that Wolbachia still greatly impairs viral development, displaying a similar level of viral inhibition to what was observed with ZIKV mono-infection, and that Wolbachia infection causes the upregulation of specific host immune genes. Finally, we show asymmetric competition between viruses, with distinct dominance levels. Taken together, our results highlight the promising use of the wMel strain of Wolbachia as tool for limiting arbovirus transmission in the field

Aspectos biológicos da infecção pelas cepas wMel e wMelpop de Wolbachia sobre populações naturais de Aedes aegypti do Rio de Janeiro

Submitted by Nuzia Santos ([email protected]) on 2015-04-15T19:02:13Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação finalizada 15-05-14 Heverton Leandro Carneiro Dutra.pdf: 3315632 bytes, checksum: ba1df84d76a5e93b094eea244f5269c5 (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Nuzia Santos ([email protected]) on 2015-04-15T19:02:21Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação finalizada 15-05-14 Heverton Leandro Carneiro Dutra.pdf: 3315632 bytes, checksum: ba1df84d76a5e93b094eea244f5269c5 (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Nuzia Santos ([email protected]) on 2015-04-15T19:02:30Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação finalizada 15-05-14 Heverton Leandro Carneiro Dutra.pdf: 3315632 bytes, checksum: ba1df84d76a5e93b094eea244f5269c5 (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-15T19:02:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação finalizada 15-05-14 Heverton Leandro Carneiro Dutra.pdf: 3315632 bytes, checksum: ba1df84d76a5e93b094eea244f5269c5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.Wolbachia constitui um gênero de bactérias endossimbiontes, gram-negativas, maternalmente transmitidas, intracelulares obrigatórias. Estima-se que cerca de 20 a 70% de todas as espécies de artrópodes conhecidas estão infectadas por estas alfaproteobactérias, as quais em seus hospedeiros causam uma série de efeitos biológicos incluindo “parasitismo reprodutivo”, o qual favorece a dispersão da bactéria na população de campo. Interessante notar que populações naturais de um dos mais importantes vetores de doença, Aedes aegypti, não estão infectadas por Wolbachia, mas quando duas cepas da bactéria, wMelPop e wMel foram independentemente inseridas nesta espécie, elas diminuíram significativamente a competência vetorial para os vírus DENV e Chikungunya. Recentemente, Wolbachia foi proposta como uma nova estratégia para reduzir a incidência da dengue (ED = www.eliminatedengue.org). Entretanto, o controle da dengue baseado em Wolbachia só será efetivo se a infecção bacteriana gerada em laboratório for capaz de se fixar na população de campo. Com isto em mente, nós avaliamos os efeitos das cepas wMelPop e wMel de Wolbachia em uma variedade de parâmetros biológicos de A. aegypti recém retrocruzados, contendo o background genético brasileiro, em preparação para liberações em campo, criados em diferentes condições estressantes. Para ambas as cepas estudadas, houve uma diferença significativa no tempo de desenvolvimento larval apenas na condição mais estressante, independente do sexo. Com relação à infecção por wMel, nós observamos uma série de mudanças fenotípicas, indo desde nenhum efeito aparente para alguns parâmetros (fecundidade e fertilidade), a parcialmente prejudiciais (longevidade e tamanho corpóreo na condição mais estressante), e parcialmente benéficos (níveis elevados de glicogênio, uma fonte chave de reserva nutricional, sob a condição mais estressante). Em termos dos níveis da infecção por Wolbachia, houve de forma geral, uma maior concentração da bactéria no background genético dos mosquitos brasileiros ao longo do tempo para a cepa wMel, comparado ao background genético dos mosquitos australianos, exibindo uma taxa de transmissão materna de 94%. A taxa de incompatibilidade citoplasmática no background genético dos mosquitos brasileiros foi de 99,51% para esta mesma cepa. Para a cepa mais virulenta, wMelPop, houve de forma surpreendente, efeitos fenotípicos benéficos: o tempo de desenvolvimento larval foi menor nos indivíduos infectados, os quis apresentaram um maior tamanho corpóreo e maior reserva de glicogênio na condição altamente estressante comparado a fêmeas não infectadas. Em conclusão, nosso trabalho salienta alguns dos efeitos fenotípicos chave de Wolbachia na biologia de A. aegypti brasileiros, aonde ela é capaz de se fixar sem causar mudanças prejudiciais à biologia do hospedeiro. Nós também acreditamos que o trabalho contribui com informações relevantes com relação aos efeitos benéficos da cepa wMel, sendo esta adequada para aplicação destes mosquitos infectados no campo para possivelmente controlar no futuro os surtos de dengue no Brasil.Wolbachia constitutes a genus of obligate, intracellular, maternally-transmitted, gram-negative bacterial endosymbionts. It is estimated that between 20 to 70% of all known arthropods are infected by these alphaproteobacteria, which in their hosts cause a variety of biological effects including "reproductive parasitism", which favors the spread of the bacteria in wild populations. Interestingly, natural populations of one of the most important disease vectors, Aedes aegypti, do not harbor Wolbachia, but when two Wolbachia strains, wMelPop and wMel were independently inserted into this species, they have significantly reduced the mosquito vectorial competence for DENV and Chikungunya viruses. Recently, Wolbachia has been trialed as a novel strategy for reducing the incidence of dengue fever (ED = www.eliminatedengue.org). However, Wolbachia-based control of dengue will only be effective if the bacterial infection generated in the laboratory is able to fixate into wild mosquito population. With this in mind, we evaluated the effects of the wMelPop and wMel strains of Wolbachia on a variety of biological parameters of recently backcrossed Brazilian A. aegypti mosquitoes genetic background, in preparation for field releases, reared under different stress conditions. For both strains studied, there was a significant difference in larval development time only in the most stressful condition, where infected individuals developed more rapidly than uninfected, regardless of sex. With respect to the wMel infection, we observed several phenotypic changes, ranging from no effect at all for some parameters (fecundity, fertility), to partially detrimental (longevity and body size in highest stress condition), and partially beneficial effects (increased levels of glycogen, a key nutritional reserve, under the highest stress condition). In terms of Wolbachia infection levels, there was generally a higher bacterial concentration in the Brazilian genetic background over time for the wMel strain compared to the Australian genetic background, exhibiting a maternal transmission rate of 94%. The wMel rate of cytoplasmic incompatibility in the Brazilian genetic background was 99.51%. For the more virulent strain, wMelPop, there were surprisingly beneficial phenotypic effects: larval development time was lower in infected individuals, which also had an increased body size and glycogen content in highest stress condition compared to uninfected females. In conclusion, our work highlights some of the key phenotypic effects of Wolbachia on the biology of Brazilian A. aegypti, where it is able to reach fixation without causing detrimental changes to its host biology. We also think it contributes with relevant information regarding the beneficial effects of the wMel strain, being suitable for the application of these infected mosquitoes in the field and possibly control dengue outbreaks in the future in Brazil

Inhibition of Zika virus by Wolbachia in Aedes aegypti

Submitted by Nuzia Santos ([email protected]) on 2017-04-04T17:22:19Z No. of bitstreams: 1 IRR - Inhibition of Zika virus by Wolbachia in Aedes aegypti.pdf: 455410 bytes, checksum: 99dcbbc65fcb3ae9cbe4c7e238d3d03e (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Nuzia Santos ([email protected]) on 2017-04-04T17:25:10Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 IRR - Inhibition of Zika virus by Wolbachia in Aedes aegypti.pdf: 455410 bytes, checksum: 99dcbbc65fcb3ae9cbe4c7e238d3d03e (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-04T17:25:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 IRR - Inhibition of Zika virus by Wolbachia in Aedes aegypti.pdf: 455410 bytes, checksum: 99dcbbc65fcb3ae9cbe4c7e238d3d03e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou. Mosquitos Vetores: Endossimbiontes e Interação Patógeno-Vetor. Belo Horizonte, MG, BrasilFundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou. Grupo Mosquitos Vetores: Endossimbiontes e Interação Patógeno Vetor. Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou. Mosquitos Vetores: Endossimbiontes e Interação Patógeno-Vetor. Belo Horizonte, MG, BrasilThrough association with cases of microcephaly in 2015, Zika virus (ZIKV) has transitioned from a relatively unknown mosquito-transmitted pathogen to a global health emergency, emphasizing the need to improve existing mosquito control programs to prevent future disease outbreaks. The response to Zika must involve a paradigm shift from traditional to novel methods of mosquito control, and according to the World Health Organization should incorporate the release of mosquitoes infected with the bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachiapipientis. In our recent paper [Dutra, HLC et al., Cell Host & Microbe 2016] we investigated the potential of Wolbachia infections in Aedes aegypti to restrict infection and transmission of Zika virus recently isolated in Brazil. Wolbachia is now well known for its ability to block or reduce infection with a variety of pathogens in different mosquito species including the dengue (DENV), yellow fever, and chikungunya viruses, and malaria-causing Plasmodium, and consequently has great potential to control mosquito-transmitted diseases across the globe. Our results demonstrated that the wMel Wolbachia strain in Brazilian Ae. aegypti is a strong inhibitor of ZIKV infection, and furthermore appears to prevent transmission of infectious viral particles in mosquito saliva, which highlights the bacterium's suitability for more widespread use in Zika control

Development and physiological effects of an artificial diet for Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti

Submitted by Nuzia Santos ([email protected]) on 2017-11-22T16:59:13Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Development and physiological.pdf: 6715299 bytes, checksum: 14ed92837b8238b7900c8b826eefae50 (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Nuzia Santos ([email protected]) on 2017-11-22T17:05:54Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Development and physiological.pdf: 6715299 bytes, checksum: 14ed92837b8238b7900c8b826eefae50 (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2017-11-22T17:05:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Development and physiological.pdf: 6715299 bytes, checksum: 14ed92837b8238b7900c8b826eefae50 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou. Endossimbiontes e Interação Patógeno-Vetor. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil/Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases. Boston. MA, United States of AmericaFundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou. Endossimbiontes e Interação Patógeno-Vetor. Belo Horizonte, MG, BrazilFundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou. Endossimbiontes e Interação Patógeno-Vetor. Belo Horizonte, MG, BrazilFundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou. Endossimbiontes e Interação Patógeno-Vetor. Belo Horizonte, MG, BrazilFundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou. Endossimbiontes e Interação Patógeno-Vetor. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil/Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology Baltimore, Maryland, United States of AmericaFundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou. Endossimbiontes e Interação Patógeno-Vetor. Belo Horizonte, MG, BrazilThe endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia spreads rapidly through populations of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, and strongly inhibits infection with key human pathogens including the dengue and Zika viruses. Mosquito control programs aimed at limiting transmission of these viruses are ongoing in multiple countries, yet there is a dearth of mass rearing infrastructure specific to Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes. One example is the lack of a blood meal substitute, which accounts for the Wolbachia-specific physiological changes in infected mosquitoes, that allows the bacterium to spread, and block viral infections. To that end, we have developed a blood meal substitute specifically for mosquitoes infected with the wMel Wolbachia strain. This diet, ADM, contains milk protein, and infant formula, dissolved in a mixture of bovine red blood cells and Aedes physiological saline, with ATP as a phagostimulant. Feeding with ADM leads to high levels of viable egg production, but also does not affect key Wolbachia parameters including, bacterial density, cytoplasmic incompatibility, or resistance to infection with Zika virus. ADM represents an effective substitute for human blood, which could potentially be used for the mass rearing of wMel-infected A. aegypti, and could easily be optimized in the future to improve performance

The influence of larval competition on Brazilian Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes

Submitted by Sandra Infurna ([email protected]) on 2017-02-09T16:05:34Z No. of bitstreams: 1 vanessa_silva_etal_IOC_2016.pdf: 3496118 bytes, checksum: c859bf3e4710dbf308157a65dc7ed57a (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Sandra Infurna ([email protected]) on 2017-02-09T16:22:38Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 vanessa_silva_etal_IOC_2016.pdf: 3496118 bytes, checksum: c859bf3e4710dbf308157a65dc7ed57a (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-09T16:22:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 vanessa_silva_etal_IOC_2016.pdf: 3496118 bytes, checksum: c859bf3e4710dbf308157a65dc7ed57a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou .Mosquitos Vetores: Endossimbiontes e Interação Patógeno-Vetor. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Transmissores de Hematozoários. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.UENF. Laboratório de Química e Função de Proteínas e Peptídeos e Unidade de Experimentação Animal. Laboratório de Sanidade Animal. Campos dos Goytacases, RJ, Brasil.UENF. Laboratório de Química e Função de Proteínas e Peptídeos e Unidade de Experimentação Animal. Laboratório de Sanidade Animal. Campos dos Goytacases, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Transmissores de Hematozoários. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou .Mosquitos Vetores: Endossimbiontes e Interação Patógeno-Vetor. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.With field releases starting in Brazil, particular interest must be given to understanding how the endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia pipientis affects Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with a Brazilian genetic background. Currently, there is limited information on how the bacterium affects phenotypic traits such as larval development rate, metabolic reserves and morphometric parameters in Ae. aegypti. Here, we analyze for the first time, the effect of Wolbachia on these key phenotypes and consider how this might impact the potential of the bacterium as a disease control agent in Brazil

From Lab to Field: The Influence of Urban Landscapes on the Invasive Potential of Wolbachia in Brazilian Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes

Submitted by Nuzia Santos ([email protected]) on 2016-02-25T17:23:09Z No. of bitstreams: 1 From lab to field.pdf: 5075968 bytes, checksum: 9eebb5062e030ecb060b60313066aa65 (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Nuzia Santos ([email protected]) on 2016-02-25T17:29:23Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 From lab to field.pdf: 5075968 bytes, checksum: 9eebb5062e030ecb060b60313066aa65 (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2016-02-25T17:29:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 From lab to field.pdf: 5075968 bytes, checksum: 9eebb5062e030ecb060b60313066aa65 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou. Mosquitos Vetores: Endossimbiontes e Interação Patógeno Vetor. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.Laboratório de Transmissores de Hematozoários. Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou. Mosquitos Vetores: Endossimbiontes e Interação Patógeno Vetor. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou. Mosquitos Vetores: Endossimbiontes e Interação Patógeno Vetor. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Programa de Computação Científica. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Transmissores de Hematozoários. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou. Mosquitos Vetores: Endossimbiontes e Interação Patógeno Vetor. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.BACKGROUND: The symbiotic bacterium Wolbachia is currently being trialled as a biocontrol agent in several countries to reduce dengue transmission. Wolbachia can invade and spread to infect all individuals within wild mosquito populations, but requires a high rate of maternal transmission, strong cytoplasmic incompatibility and low fitness costs in the host in order to do so. Additionally, extensive differences in climate, field-release protocols, urbanization level and human density amongst the sites where this bacterium has been deployed have limited comparison and analysis of Wolbachia's invasive potential. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We examined key phenotypic effects of the wMel Wolbachia strain in laboratory Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with a Brazilian genetic background to characterize its invasive potential. We show that the wMel strain causes strong cytoplasmic incompatibility, a high rate of maternal transmission and has no evident detrimental effect on host fecundity or fertility. Next, to understand the effects of different urban landscapes on the likelihood of mosquito survival, we performed mark-release-recapture experiments using Wolbachia-uninfected Brazilian mosquitoes in two areas of Rio de Janeiro where Wolbachia will be deployed in the future. We characterized the mosquito populations in relation to the socio-demographic conditions at these sites, and at three other future release areas. We then constructed mathematical models using both the laboratory and field data, and used these to describe the influence of urban environmental conditions on the likelihood that the Wolbachia infection frequency could reach 100% following mosquito release. We predict successful invasion at all five field sites, however the conditions by which this occurs vary greatly between sites, and are strongly influenced by the size of the local mosquito population. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Through analysis of laboratory, field and mathematical data, we show that the wMel strain of Wolbachia possesses the characteristics required to spread effectively in different urban socio-demographic environments in Rio de Janeiro, including those where mosquito releases from the Eliminate Dengue Program will take place

Recapture rate and longevity of <i>Ae</i>. <i>aegypti</i> females released in Vila Valqueire and Jurujuba.

<p>Mosquitoes were either blood-fed (Cohort A) or starved (Cohort B) prior to release.</p><p>Recapture rate and longevity of <i>Ae</i>. <i>aegypti</i> females released in Vila Valqueire and Jurujuba.</p