Molecular identification of native Wolbachia pipientis in Anopheles minimus in a low-malaria transmission area of Umphan
- PDF / 2,271,279 Bytes
- 13 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 79 Downloads / 174 Views
Parasites & Vectors Open Access
RESEARCH
Molecular identification of native Wolbachia pipientis in Anopheles minimus in a low‑malaria transmission area of Umphang Valley along the Thailand‑Myanmar border Nongnat Tongkrajang1, Pichet Ruenchit1 , Chatchai Tananchai2, Theeraphap Chareonviriyaphap2 and Kasem Kulkeaw1*
Abstract Background: Wolbachia, obligate intracellular bacteria, infect the majority of arthropods, including many mosquito species of medical importance. Some Wolbachia strains interfere with the development of Plasmodium parasites in female Anopheles, a major vector of malaria. The use of Wolbachia as a means to block malaria transmission is an emerging vector control strategy in highly endemic areas. Hence, identification of native Wolbachia strains in areas where malaria transmission is low may uncover a particular Wolbachia strain capable of Plasmodium interference. This study aims to identify native Wolbachia strains in female Anopheles spp. that are predominant in a low-malaria transmission area in mainland Southeast Asia. Methods: Following a 2-year survey of malaria vectors in Umphang Valley of Tak Province, Thailand, DNA extracts of female An. minimus, An. peditaeniatus, and An. maculatus were subjected to amplification of the conserved region of the 16S rRNA-encoding gene. The DNA sequences of the amplicons were phylogenetically compared with those of known Wolbachia strains. Results: Among three Anopheles spp., amplification was detected in only the DNA samples from An. minimus. The DNA sequencing of amplicons revealed 100% similarity to Wolbachia pipientis, confirming the specificity of amplification. The Wolbachia-positive An. minimus samples were devoid of Plasmodium 18S rRNA amplification. The phylogenetic trees indicate a close relationship with Wolbachia strains in subgroup B. Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, the data presented herein provide the first molecular evidence of a Wolbachia strain in An. minimus, hereinafter named wAnmi, in a low-malaria transmission area in the Umphang Valley of western Thailand. Further biological characterization is required to examine its potential for malaria transmission control in the field. Keywords: Wolbachia, Anopheles, Malaria, 16S rRNA, PCR, Phylogenetics
*Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, The 7th floor, Adulyadejvikrom Building, 2 Wang Lang Road, Bangkok‑Noi, Bangkok 10700, Thailand Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2020. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indi
Data Loading...
