Effects of Wolbachia infection on immature Aedes interaction

Wolbachia are maternally inherited intracellular bacteria that infect a diverse number of arthropod species. Wolbachia have evolved mechanisms to manipulate host reproduction in order to spread or persist in host population. Recent novel strategies for vector control include releasing individuals that are infected with Wolbachia to deliver desirable traits into target vector populations. Thus, understanding the effect of Wolbachia infection on the host is important in designing the release strategies. Studies characterizing Wolbachia infections have mostly focused on life history traits of hosts, yet little is known about effects on host behavior. Here, we characterize effects of a life-shortening Wolbachia infection that had been artificially generated in Aedes aegypti by examining survival of 1st instars in the presence of 4th instars. Wolbachia infected 1st instars survived significantly less than uninfected larvae in the presence of uninfected 4th instars while there was no effect with infected 4th instars on the survival of both infected and uninfected 1st instars. Our results suggest that there are potential interactions between Wolbachia and hosts that may be involved in immature behavior. The results are discussed within the context of using Wolbachia infections to reduce transmission of the dengue virus by A. aegypti.