Rapid and convergent evolution of Wolbachia genomes in mosquito cell culture
- 1MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Abstract
Wolbachia are widespread bacterial symbionts of arthropods that manipulate host reproduction and can confer fitness benefits, such as protection against viral pathogens. Their self-spreading ability coupled with their antiviral effect has been harnessed in health programmes to curb the transmission of dengue virus by Aedes mosquitoes. In this context, a better understanding of evolutionary dynamics over short timescales is critical to inform and improve the efficacy of Wolbachia-based disease control interventions. Moreover, experimental evolution of Wolbachia may provide a powerful approach for generating novel symbiont strains with improved properties for disease control. Here we generated new mosquito cell lines by introducing five Wolbachia strains from Drosophila into the symbiont-free Aedes albopictus Aa23 cell line. Following transinfection, long-read whole-genome sequencing revealed multiple mutations, including structural changes, some of them being associated with major shifts in bacterial density. Signs of convergent evolution, an excess of non-synonymous mutations and comparisons with previous studies, indicate that Wolbachia evolution in cell culture is predominantly driven by selection and occurs faster than in insect hosts. Altogether, our study demonstrates that cell culture is a valuable tool to investigate short-term symbiont evolution, explore the genetic basis of bacterial density regulation and generate higher-density symbiont strains suitable for disease control. Author summary: Wolbachia are bacteria that live inside many insects and can strongly influence their hosts, including reducing the ability of mosquitoes to spread viruses such as dengue. Because of this, Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes are now being released in several countries to help control mosquito-borne diseases. However, we still know very little about how these bacteria evolve or which genes control important traits, such as their abundance within the host. One major challenge is that Wolbachia cannot be grown outside insect cells, making genetic studies difficult.
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BibTeX
@article{martinez2026rapid,
title = {{Rapid and convergent evolution of Wolbachia genomes in mosquito cell culture}},
author = {Julien Martinez and Anne W. Wairimu and Steven P. Sinkins},
journal = {PLOS Pathogens},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1371/journal.ppat.1014735},
url = {https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1014735},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Rapid and convergent evolution of Wolbachia genomes in mosquito cell culture
AU - Julien Martinez
AU - Anne W. Wairimu
AU - Steven P. Sinkins
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
JO - PLOS Pathogens
DO - 10.1371/journal.ppat.1014735
UR - https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1014735
AB - Wolbachia are widespread bacterial symbionts of arthropods that manipulate host reproduction and can confer fitness benefits, such as protection against viral pathogens. Their self-spreading ability coupled with their antiviral effect has been harnessed in health programmes to curb the transmission of dengue virus by Aedes mosquitoes. In this context, a better understanding of evolutionary dynamics over short timescales is critical to inform and improve the efficacy of Wolbachia-based disease control interventions. Moreover, experimental evolution of Wolbachia may provide a powerful approach for generating novel symbiont strains with improved properties for disease control. Here we generated new mosquito cell lines by introducing five Wolbachia strains from Drosophila into the symbiont-free Aedes albopictus Aa23 cell line. Following transinfection, long-read whole-genome sequencing revealed multiple mutations, including structural changes, some of them being associated with major shifts in bacterial density. Signs of convergent evolution, an excess of non-synonymous mutations and comparisons with previous studies, indicate that Wolbachia evolution in cell culture is predominantly driven by selection and occurs faster than in insect hosts. Altogether, our study demonstrates that cell culture is a valuable tool to investigate short-term symbiont evolution, explore the genetic basis of bacterial density regulation and generate higher-density symbiont strains suitable for disease control. Author summary: Wolbachia are bacteria that live inside many insects and can strongly influence their hosts, including reducing the ability of mosquitoes to spread viruses such as dengue. Because of this, Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes are now being released in several countries to help control mosquito-borne diseases. However, we still know very little about how these bacteria evolve or which genes control important traits, such as their abundance within the host. One major challenge is that Wolbachia cannot be grown outside insect cells, making genetic studies difficult.
SN - 1553-7374
SN - 1553-7366
ER -