Biological characterization of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in Argentina: Implications for arbovirus transmission

Abstract

Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) is an invasive mosquito, native to Asia, that has expanded its range worldwide. It is considered to be a public health threat as it is a competent vector of viruses of medical importance, including dengue, chikungunya, and Zika. Despite its medical importance there is almost no information on biologically important traits of Ae. albopictus in Argentina. We studied life cycle traits, demographic parameters and analyzed the competence of this mosquito as a virus vector. In addition, we determined the prevalence of Wolbachia strains in Ae. albopictus as a first approach to investigate the potential role of this bacteria in modulating vector competence for arboviruses. We observed low hatch rates of eggs, which led to a negative growth rate. We found that Ae. albopictus individuals were infected with Wolbachia in the F1 but while standard superinfection with wAlbA and wAlbB types was found in 66.7% of the females, 16.7% of the females and 62.5% of the males were single-infected with the wAlbB strain. Finally, despite high levels of infection and dissemination, particularly for chikungunya virus, Ae. albopictus from subtropical Argentina were found to be relatively inefficient vectors for transmission of both chikungunya and dengue viruses.