Last Updated: 21/02/2025
For lab to field: develop endosymbiotic bacteria Wolbachia for vector-borne disease control
Objectives
The long-term goal of this research is to understand the interactions between the symbiotic intracellular bacterium Wolbachia and its insect hosts and develop Wolbachia as a novel tool to combat vector-borne diseases, including dengue, Zika and malaria.
Wolbachia is maternally transmitted, Gram-negative endosymbiotic bacterium that infects more than 65% of all insect species. The ability of Wolbachia to spread through cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) and induce resistance to a variety of human pathogens has led to development of Wolbachia-based strategies for both the suppression and replacement of medically important mosquito species. This includes reports that Wolbachia was deployed successfully into field settings for either blocking dengue transmission by Wolbachia or eliminating dengue vector population. To understand the molecular mechanism underlying Wolbachia-mediated resistance to dengue virus, it was understood that Wolbachia induces ROS-dependent activation of the Toll pathway to control dengue virus in the mosquito Ae. aegypti. However, evidences also indicate multiple mechanisms may work together to form a system with high efficacy to induce viral interference. Toward them, the aim is to conduct both basic studies in the laboratory and implementation studies in the field. Specifically, the basic studies are focusing on: 1) understanding the molecular mechanisms of Wolbachia-mediated viral and Plasmodium interference in mosquito vectors, and 2) dissecting the roles of mosquito innate immunity in promoting Wolbachia symbiosis with novel hosts. The implementation studies are focusing on: 1) developing Wolbachia as a microbial insecticide to sustainably control dengue, Zika and malaria, and adapt & extend this technology to control agriculturally important insect pests; 2) manipulating mosquito sex determination pathways for mass production of Wolbachia-infected male mosquitoes. Due to the significance of vector borne disease control in public health, the implementation studies will extensively involve international collaboration in disease endemic countries as we have accomplished in Asia and Latin America. It is anticipated the knowledge generated from the above studies will facilitate the development of Wolbachia-based biocontrol strategies for the current global effort on vector-borne disease control.
Jan 2020 — Dec 2024
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