Flavivirus diseases are increasing in incidence and prevalence owing to the urban proclivities of its Aedes mosquito vector species. Extirpation of mosquitoes is considered key for the control of several human diseases but often involves toxic chemicals that prompt mosquito resistance. As some biocontrol alternatives look promising in malaria campaigns, Zhang et al. examined the microbiota of Aedes mosquitoes for potential agents to control dengue and Zika virus transmission. The authors isolated a bacterium called Rosenbergiella_YN46 in Aedes albopictus mosquitos. The bacterium was fed to caged mosquitoes to establish stable gut infections, and it was found to prevent the insects from being infected by viruses and blocked viral transmission to mice.
LIMING ZHANG, DAXI WANG, PEIBO SHI, JUZHEN LI, JICHEN NIU, JIELONG CHEN, GANG WANG, LINJUAN WU, LU CHEN, ZHENXING YANG, SUSHENG LI, JINXIN MENG, FANGCHAO RUAN, YUWEN HE, HAILONG ZHAO, ZIRUI REN, YIBAINA WANG, YANG LIU, XIAOLU SHI, YUNFU WANG, QIYONG LIU, JUNHUA LI, PENGHUA WANG, JINGLIN WANG, YIBIN ZHU, AND GONG CHENG
A naturally isolated symbiotic bacterium suppresses
flavivirus transmission by Aedes mosquitoes
SCIENCE, 19 Apr 2024, Vol 384, Issue 6693
