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First published online May 1, 2009
Journal of Experimental Biology 212, 1436-1441 (2009)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2009
doi: 10.1242/jeb.028951

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Increased locomotor activity and metabolism of Aedes aegypti infected with a life-shortening strain of Wolbachia pipientis

Oliver Evans¹, Eric P. Caragata¹, Conor J. McMeniman¹, Megan Woolfit¹, David C. Green², Craig R. Williams³, Craig E. Franklin¹, Scott L. O'Neill¹ and Elizabeth A. McGraw^1,*

¹ School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia
² Information Technology Services, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia
³ Sansom Institute, University of South Australia, GPO Box 2471, Adelaide, South Australia, 5001, Australia

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: e.mcgraw{at}uq.edu.au)

Accepted 3 March 2009

A virulent strain of the obligate intracellular bacterium Wolbachia pipientis that shortens insect lifespan has recently been transinfected into the primary mosquito vector of dengue virus, Aedes aegypti L. The microbe's ability to shorten lifespan and spread through host populations under the action of cytoplasmic incompatibility means it has the potential to be used as a biocontrol agent to reduce dengue virus transmission. Wolbachia is present in many host tissues and may have local effects on diverse biological processes. In other insects, Wolbachia infections have been shown to alter locomotor activity and response time to food cues. In mosquitoes, locomotor performance relates to the location of mates, human hosts, resting sites and oviposition sites. We have therefore examined the effect of the virulent, life-shortening Wolbachia strain wMelPop on the locomotion of Ae. aegypti as they age and as the pathogenicity of the infection increases. In parallel experiments we also examined CO₂ production as a proxy for metabolic rate, to investigate a potential mechanistic explanation for any changes in locomotion. Contrary to expectation, we found that the infection increased activity and metabolic rate and that these effects were relatively consistent over the insect's lifespan. The results do not fit a standard model of bacterial pathogenesis in insects, and instead may reveal additional physiological changes induced by infection, such as either increased hunger or defects in the nervous system.

Key words: Aedes aegypti, Wolbachia pipientis, locomotor activity, metabolic rate, insect

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