Exploiting <i>Wolbachia</i> as a Tool for Mosquito-Borne Disease Control: Pursuing Efficacy, Safety, and Sustainability
Despite the application of control measures, mosquito-borne diseases continue to pose a serious threat to human health. In this context, exploiting <i>Wolbachia</i>, a common symbiotic bacterium in insects, may offer effective solutions to suppress vectors or reduce their competence in t...
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MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/14/3/285 |
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| author | Riccardo Moretti Jue Tao Lim Alvaro Gil Araujo Ferreira Luigi Ponti Marta Giovanetti Chow Jo Yi Pranav Tewari Maria Cholvi Jacob Crawford Andrew Paul Gutierrez Stephen L. Dobson Perran A. Ross |
| author_facet | Riccardo Moretti Jue Tao Lim Alvaro Gil Araujo Ferreira Luigi Ponti Marta Giovanetti Chow Jo Yi Pranav Tewari Maria Cholvi Jacob Crawford Andrew Paul Gutierrez Stephen L. Dobson Perran A. Ross |
| author_sort | Riccardo Moretti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Despite the application of control measures, mosquito-borne diseases continue to pose a serious threat to human health. In this context, exploiting <i>Wolbachia</i>, a common symbiotic bacterium in insects, may offer effective solutions to suppress vectors or reduce their competence in transmitting several arboviruses. Many <i>Wolbachia</i> strains can induce conditional egg sterility, known as cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), when infected males mate with females that do not harbor the same <i>Wolbachia</i> infection. Infected males can be mass-reared and then released to compete with wild males, reducing the likelihood of wild females encountering a fertile mate. Furthermore, certain <i>Wolbachia</i> strains can reduce the competence of mosquitoes to transmit several RNA viruses. Through CI, <i>Wolbachia</i>-infected individuals can spread within the population, leading to an increased frequency of mosquitoes with a reduced ability to transmit pathogens. Using artificial methods, <i>Wolbachia</i> can be horizontally transferred between species, allowing the establishment of various laboratory lines of mosquito vector species that, without any additional treatment, can produce sterilizing males or females with reduced vector competence, which can be used subsequently to replace wild populations. This manuscript reviews the current knowledge in this field, describing the different approaches and evaluating their efficacy, safety, and sustainability. Successes, challenges, and future perspectives are discussed in the context of the current spread of several arboviral diseases, the rise of insecticide resistance in mosquito populations, and the impact of climate change. In this context, we explore the necessity of coordinating efforts among all stakeholders to maximize disease control. We discuss how the involvement of diverse expertise—ranging from new biotechnologies to mechanistic modeling of eco-epidemiological interactions between hosts, vectors, <i>Wolbachia</i>, and pathogens—becomes increasingly crucial. This coordination is especially important in light of the added complexity introduced by <i>Wolbachia</i> and the ongoing challenges posed by global change. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e93e1cedc4d74776a90f61fdc31a7ed5 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2076-0817 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Pathogens |
| spelling | doaj-art-e93e1cedc4d74776a90f61fdc31a7ed52025-08-20T01:48:53ZengMDPI AGPathogens2076-08172025-03-0114328510.3390/pathogens14030285Exploiting <i>Wolbachia</i> as a Tool for Mosquito-Borne Disease Control: Pursuing Efficacy, Safety, and SustainabilityRiccardo Moretti0Jue Tao Lim1Alvaro Gil Araujo Ferreira2Luigi Ponti3Marta Giovanetti4Chow Jo Yi5Pranav Tewari6Maria Cholvi7Jacob Crawford8Andrew Paul Gutierrez9Stephen L. Dobson10Perran A. Ross11Casaccia Research Center, Department for Sustainability, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy, and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), 00123 Rome, ItalyLee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 308232, SingaporeRené Rachou Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Belo Horizonte 30190-002, BrazilCasaccia Research Center, Department for Sustainability, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy, and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), 00123 Rome, ItalyRené Rachou Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Belo Horizonte 30190-002, BrazilLee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 308232, SingaporeLee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 308232, SingaporeArea of Parasitology, Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology and Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitat de València, 46100 Valencia, SpainVerily Life Sciences, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USACenter for the Analysis of Sustainable Agricultural Systems, Kensington, CA 94707, USADepartment of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546, USAPest and Environmental Adaptation Research Group, School of BioSciences, Bio Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 2052, AustraliaDespite the application of control measures, mosquito-borne diseases continue to pose a serious threat to human health. In this context, exploiting <i>Wolbachia</i>, a common symbiotic bacterium in insects, may offer effective solutions to suppress vectors or reduce their competence in transmitting several arboviruses. Many <i>Wolbachia</i> strains can induce conditional egg sterility, known as cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), when infected males mate with females that do not harbor the same <i>Wolbachia</i> infection. Infected males can be mass-reared and then released to compete with wild males, reducing the likelihood of wild females encountering a fertile mate. Furthermore, certain <i>Wolbachia</i> strains can reduce the competence of mosquitoes to transmit several RNA viruses. Through CI, <i>Wolbachia</i>-infected individuals can spread within the population, leading to an increased frequency of mosquitoes with a reduced ability to transmit pathogens. Using artificial methods, <i>Wolbachia</i> can be horizontally transferred between species, allowing the establishment of various laboratory lines of mosquito vector species that, without any additional treatment, can produce sterilizing males or females with reduced vector competence, which can be used subsequently to replace wild populations. This manuscript reviews the current knowledge in this field, describing the different approaches and evaluating their efficacy, safety, and sustainability. Successes, challenges, and future perspectives are discussed in the context of the current spread of several arboviral diseases, the rise of insecticide resistance in mosquito populations, and the impact of climate change. In this context, we explore the necessity of coordinating efforts among all stakeholders to maximize disease control. We discuss how the involvement of diverse expertise—ranging from new biotechnologies to mechanistic modeling of eco-epidemiological interactions between hosts, vectors, <i>Wolbachia</i>, and pathogens—becomes increasingly crucial. This coordination is especially important in light of the added complexity introduced by <i>Wolbachia</i> and the ongoing challenges posed by global change.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/14/3/285arboviruses<i>Wolbachia</i>vector controlincompatible insect techniquepopulation replacement strategyeffectiveness |
| spellingShingle | Riccardo Moretti Jue Tao Lim Alvaro Gil Araujo Ferreira Luigi Ponti Marta Giovanetti Chow Jo Yi Pranav Tewari Maria Cholvi Jacob Crawford Andrew Paul Gutierrez Stephen L. Dobson Perran A. Ross Exploiting <i>Wolbachia</i> as a Tool for Mosquito-Borne Disease Control: Pursuing Efficacy, Safety, and Sustainability Pathogens arboviruses <i>Wolbachia</i> vector control incompatible insect technique population replacement strategy effectiveness |
| title | Exploiting <i>Wolbachia</i> as a Tool for Mosquito-Borne Disease Control: Pursuing Efficacy, Safety, and Sustainability |
| title_full | Exploiting <i>Wolbachia</i> as a Tool for Mosquito-Borne Disease Control: Pursuing Efficacy, Safety, and Sustainability |
| title_fullStr | Exploiting <i>Wolbachia</i> as a Tool for Mosquito-Borne Disease Control: Pursuing Efficacy, Safety, and Sustainability |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploiting <i>Wolbachia</i> as a Tool for Mosquito-Borne Disease Control: Pursuing Efficacy, Safety, and Sustainability |
| title_short | Exploiting <i>Wolbachia</i> as a Tool for Mosquito-Borne Disease Control: Pursuing Efficacy, Safety, and Sustainability |
| title_sort | exploiting i wolbachia i as a tool for mosquito borne disease control pursuing efficacy safety and sustainability |
| topic | arboviruses <i>Wolbachia</i> vector control incompatible insect technique population replacement strategy effectiveness |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/14/3/285 |
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