Data from: Application of wMelPop Wolbachia strain to crash local populations of Aedes aegypti

The endosymbiotic bacteria Wolbachia pipientis (wMel strain) has been
successfully established in several populations of Aedes aegypti, the
primary dengue vector. The virulent Wolbachia strain wMelPop is known to
cause several pathological impacts (increased egg mortality, life
shortening, etc.) reducing overall fitness in the mosquito Ae. aegypti.
Increased egg mortality could substantially reduce egg banks in areas with
a lengthy monsoonal dry season, and be employed to eliminate local
populations. We tested this application under semi-field cage conditions.
First, we determined that wMelPop infection significantly reduced the
survival of desiccation-resistant eggs of the dengue vector Ae. aegypti,
with shade and temperature having a significant impact; nearly all
wMelPop-infected eggs failed to hatch after 6 and 10 weeks in summer and
winter conditions, respectively. In laboratory selection experiments we
found that egg desiccation resistance can be increased by selection, and
that this effect of wMelPop infection is due to the nuclear background of
the host rather than Wolbachia. We then conducted an invasion of wMelPop
within a semi-field cage using sustained weekly releases of wMelPop
infected mosquitoes, with fixation achieved after 9 weeks. The egg
populations wMelPop infected and an uninfected control were then subjected
to a simulated prolonged monsoonal dry season (2.5 months) before flooding
to induce hatching. The wMelPop infected eggs suffered significantly
greater mortality than the controls, with only 0.67% and 4.35% of
respective infected and uninfected eggs held in 99% shade hatching after
80 days. These studies suggest that wMelPop could be used to locally
eliminate populations of Ae. aegypti that are exposed to prolonged dry
conditions, particularly if combined with vector control.