Phylogeny of Wolbachia strains in populations of Aedes aegypti and Culex pipiens in Hormozgan Province, South of Iran

IF 2.4 Q3 INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Parasite Epidemiology and Control Pub Date : 2026-05-01 Epub Date: 2026-03-28 DOI:10.1016/j.parepi.2026.e00495

Alireza Sanei-Dehkordi , Amir Hossein Roozitalab , Saeed Shahabi , Mehrnaz Rahimi , Zahra Rousta , Raziyeh Shahheidari , Elahe Golestani , Azim Paksa

{"title":"Phylogeny of Wolbachia strains in populations of Aedes aegypti and Culex pipiens in Hormozgan Province, South of Iran","authors":"Alireza Sanei-Dehkordi , Amir Hossein Roozitalab , Saeed Shahabi , Mehrnaz Rahimi , Zahra Rousta , Raziyeh Shahheidari , Elahe Golestani , Azim Paksa","doi":"10.1016/j.parepi.2026.e00495","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div><em>Aedes aegypti</em>, and <em>Culex pipiens</em> are the primary vector of human arboviral diseases, which represent an important public health problem. Controlling mosquitoes with <em>Wolbachia</em> as an endosymbiont bacterium is a new approach in this field. This study was conducted to detect <em>Wolbachia</em> infection in <em>Aedes aegypti</em> and <em>Culex pipiens</em> in Hormozgan Province, South of Iran.</div></div><div><h3>Material and method</h3><div>Specimens of <em>Ae. aegypti</em> and <em>Cx. pipiens</em> were collected from 10 localities in Bandar Abbas City, Hormozgan province of southern Iran. All samples were identified using valid identification keys. After DNA identification by Collin's method, genomic DNA of the mosquitoes were used for detection of <em>Wolbachia</em> infection by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) amplification of <em>Wolbachia</em> surface protein (wsp gene).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>In this study, a total, 460 <em>Ae. aegypti</em> and 716 <em>Cx. pipiens</em> were collected. From a total of 358 adult <em>Cx. pipiens</em> screened using the wsp primer, 212 (59.22%) <em>Cx. pipiens</em> mosquitoes infected <em>Wolbachia</em>. The <em>Cx. pipiens</em> wsp sample sequences were similar to <em>Wolbachia</em> strains belonging to supergroups B. Out of a total of 230 <em>Ae. aegypti</em> investigations of <em>Wolbachia</em> infection, the results showed that there is no <em>Wolbachia</em> infection in this species.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>By utilizing wsp molecular maker, our study demonstrated the presence of supergroup B strain of <em>Wolbachia</em> in individual <em>Cx. pipiens</em> samples. Although no <em>Wolbachia</em> infection in <em>Ae. aegypti</em> was detected in present study but it is possible to introduce <em>Wolbachia</em> populations with <em>Wolbachia</em>-free populations by infecting this species and it can be used as a promising tool for controlling vectors and reducing the transmission of arboviral diseases by cytoplasmic incompatibility.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37873,"journal":{"name":"Parasite Epidemiology and Control","volume":"33 ","pages":"Article e00495"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4000,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Parasite Epidemiology and Control","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405673126000206","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2026/3/28 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"INFECTIOUS DISEASES","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Introduction

Aedes aegypti, and Culex pipiens are the primary vector of human arboviral diseases, which represent an important public health problem. Controlling mosquitoes with Wolbachia as an endosymbiont bacterium is a new approach in this field. This study was conducted to detect Wolbachia infection in Aedes aegypti and Culex pipiens in Hormozgan Province, South of Iran.

Material and method

Specimens of Ae. aegypti and Cx. pipiens were collected from 10 localities in Bandar Abbas City, Hormozgan province of southern Iran. All samples were identified using valid identification keys. After DNA identification by Collin's method, genomic DNA of the mosquitoes were used for detection of Wolbachia infection by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) amplification of Wolbachia surface protein (wsp gene).

Results

In this study, a total, 460 Ae. aegypti and 716 Cx. pipiens were collected. From a total of 358 adult Cx. pipiens screened using the wsp primer, 212 (59.22%) Cx. pipiens mosquitoes infected Wolbachia. The Cx. pipiens wsp sample sequences were similar to Wolbachia strains belonging to supergroups B. Out of a total of 230 Ae. aegypti investigations of Wolbachia infection, the results showed that there is no Wolbachia infection in this species.

Conclusions

By utilizing wsp molecular maker, our study demonstrated the presence of supergroup B strain of Wolbachia in individual Cx. pipiens samples. Although no Wolbachia infection in Ae. aegypti was detected in present study but it is possible to introduce Wolbachia populations with Wolbachia-free populations by infecting this species and it can be used as a promising tool for controlling vectors and reducing the transmission of arboviral diseases by cytoplasmic incompatibility.

查看原文本刊更多论文

伊朗南部霍尔木兹甘省埃及伊蚊和库蚊种群沃尔巴克氏体菌株的系统发育

埃及伊蚊和库蚊是人类虫媒病毒性疾病的主要传播媒介，是一个重要的公共卫生问题。利用沃尔巴克氏体作为一种内共生细菌来控制蚊子是这一领域的新途径。本研究旨在检测伊朗南部霍尔木兹甘省埃及伊蚊和库蚊沃尔巴克氏体感染情况。材料与方法；埃及伊蚊和Cx。在伊朗南部霍尔木兹甘省阿巴斯市班达尔10个地点采集到库蚊。所有样品都使用有效的识别密钥进行识别。采用Collin法鉴定DNA后，采用沃尔巴克氏体表面蛋白（wsp基因）聚合酶链反应（PCR）扩增方法检测沃尔巴克氏体感染。结果本研究共检出460株。埃及伊蚊和716cx。采集冷库蚊。从358只成年Cx。用wsp引物筛选的库蚊，总阳性率为212 (59.22%)；库蚊感染沃尔巴克氏体。残雪。样本序列与b超群沃尔巴克氏菌相似。对埃及伊蚊沃尔巴克氏体感染进行调查，结果显示该蚊未发现沃尔巴克氏体感染。结论利用wsp分子制造技术，本研究证实了Cx个体存在超B群沃尔巴克氏菌。侵害样本。虽然伊蚊未发现沃尔巴克氏体感染。本研究发现埃及伊蚊，但通过感染该物种可以引入无沃尔巴克氏体种群，并且可以作为控制媒介和减少细胞质不相容虫媒病毒疾病传播的有前途的工具。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Parasite Epidemiology and Control Medicine-Infectious Diseases

CiteScore

5.70

自引率

3.10%

发文量

审稿时长

17 weeks

期刊介绍： Parasite Epidemiology and Control is an Open Access journal. There is an increasing amount of research in the parasitology area that analyses the patterns, causes, and effects of health and disease conditions in defined populations. This epidemiology of parasite infectious diseases is predominantly studied in human populations but also spans other major hosts of parasitic infections and as such this journal will have a broad remit. We will focus on the major areas of epidemiological study including disease etiology, disease surveillance, drug resistance and geographical spread and screening, biomonitoring, and comparisons of treatment effects in clinical trials for both human and other animals. We will also look at the epidemiology and control of vector insects. The journal will also cover the use of geographic information systems (Epi-GIS) for epidemiological surveillance which is a rapidly growing area of research in infectious diseases. Molecular epidemiological approaches are also particularly encouraged.