The role of increased gonotrophic cycles in the establishment of Wolbachia in Anopheles populations
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ORIGINAL PAPER
The role of increased gonotrophic cycles in the establishment of Wolbachia in Anopheles populations Lauren M. Childs1 · Ryan Hughes1 · Julie C. Blackwood2 Received: 9 May 2019 / Accepted: 24 March 2020 © Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract Wolbachia, a bacterium that infects insect populations, has been examined extensively in Drosophila populations and, in recent years, has garnered significant attention for its potential to reduce the spread of dengue in the Aedes mosquito population. Similar applications to Anopheles mosquitoes for the reduction of malaria have not been as thoroughly studied, as Anopheles were previously thought to be devoid of Wolbachia infection. The recent discovery, however, of Wolbachia in two separate wild Anopheles populations suggests further study is needed. We develop and analyze an ordinary differential equation model of Wolbachia infection in Anopheles mosquitoes, which demonstrate different reproductive phenotypes than Aedes mosquitoes when infected with Wolbachia. In particular, they do not show the hallmark cytoplasmic incompatibility phenotype—absence of viable offspring when infected males mate with uninfected females—or other standard sex-biasing phenotypes. Instead, evidence of increased speed of gonotrophic cycles by Wolbachia-infected females has been reported. We show that the ability for Wolbachia to invade for a basic reproductive number less than 1 (Rpop < 1), found in other models, is significantly diminished here. However, the invasion threshold below Rpop < 1 can be partially recovered with the increased speed of laying eggs, as incorporated through gonotrophic cycles. Our results highlight the need for further experimental and theoretical work if Wolbachia is to be considered as a form of malaria control. Keywords Wolbachia · Anopheles · Differential equation model
Introduction Wolbachia, a genus of bacteria found in a wide range of insect populations, is becoming increasingly recognized as a potential tool for controlling vector-borne diseases such as dengue and malaria (Caragata et al. 2016; Hoffmann et al. 2011; Silva et al. 2017; Moreira et al. 2009). For example, recent studies have indicated that Wolbachia is capable of limiting the reproduction of Plasmodium—the causative agent of malaria—in Anopheles populations (Baldini et al. 2014; Bian et al. 2013; Hughes et al. 2011; Kambris et al. 2010; Murdock et al. 2014). Moreover, experimental results have demonstrated the ability of Wolbachia to block Julie C. Blackwood
[email protected] 1
Department of Mathematics, Virginia Tech, 225 Stanger St., Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
2
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Williams College, 33 Stetson Ct., Williamstown, MA 01267, USA
dengue transmission (Walker et al. 2011) and releases of Wolbachia-infected Aedes mosquitoes have been shown to be successfully established in a natural setting (Hoffmann et al. 2011). The ability of Wolbachia to establish in insect populations stems from its capacity to reproductively manipulate its host by, for exampl
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