Genome Variation of Endosymbiotic Wolbachia in Introduced Populations of Asian Tiger Mosquito Aedes albopictus from Krasnodar Krai

For determining the impact of Wolbachia endosymbiont on Aedes albopictus spread to colder environments, we have studied variation in the Wolbachia genome from mosquito populations of Krasnodar krai. We found that mosquitoes from Krasnodar have a higher Wolbachia infection rate than mosquitoes from Sochi. All Wolbachia that we found belong to the wAlbB strain. It was shown in previous studies that this strain increases the egg hatching rate and fertility of mosquitoes in low temperature conditions. The Wolbachia genomes from Sochi and Krasnodar differ in the allele frequency spectrum on SNPs in IS982 family transposases and group II intron reverse transcriptases/maturases.

Automated summary

The study found that Aedes albopictus mosquitoes from Krasnodar have a higher Wolbachia infection rate than those from Sochi, and all Wolbachia strains identified belong to the wAlbB strain. Previous research has shown that this strain can increase egg hatching rate and fertility of mosquitoes in low temperature conditions. Additionally, the Wolbachia genomes from Sochi and Krasnodar differ in the allele frequency spectrum on certain genes.