ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2014
Wolbachia enhances West Nile virus (WNV) infection in the mosquito Culex tarsalis.
Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 110 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
110 citing papers in PubMed, 203 citations in OpenAlex.
- Spatiotemporal variation in the microbiome ofMicrobiology spectrum · 2026Article
- Hologenomic structure of bacterial and fungal community composition in the West Nile virus vectorbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- The Symbiotic Bacterial Profile of Laboratory-Reared and Field-CaughtMicroorganisms · 2025Article
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- Malagasy flea microbiota results from a combination of vertically transmitted and environmentally acquired microbes.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The Temperature-Associated Effects of Rift Valley Fever Virus Infections in Mosquitoes and Climate-Driven Epidemics: A Review.Viruses · 2025Review
- Metabarcoding for the Monitoring of the Microbiome and Parasitome of Medically Important Mosquito Species in Two Urban and Semi-urban Areas of South Korea.Current microbiology · 2025Article
- The infectivity of virus particles from Wolbachia-infected Drosophila.BMC microbiology · 2025Article
- Understanding the role of trehalose in interactions betweenFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025Review
- UnveilingFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025Article
- Variable effects of transient Wolbachia infections on alphaviruses in Aedes aegypti.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2024Article
- Wolbachia infection in Aedes aegypti does not affect its vectorial capacity for Dirofilaria immitis.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Review
- Lack of abundant core virome inmSystems · 2024Article
- Enterobacteriaceae as a Key Indicator of Huanglongbing Infection inInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Review
- Review
- First report of natural infection of Anopheles gambiae s.s. and Anopheles coluzzii by Wolbachia and Microsporidia in Benin: a cross-sectional study.Malaria journal · 2024Article
- Response of the mosquito immune system and symbiotic bacteria to pathogen infection.Parasites & vectors · 2024Review
- Sustained antiviral insulin signaling during West Nile virus infection results in viral mutations.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2024Article
50 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Novel strategies are required to control mosquitoes and the pathogens they transmit. One attractive approach involves maternally inherited endosymbiotic Wolbachia bacteria. After artificial infection with Wolbachia, many mosquitoes become refractory to infection and transmission of diverse pathogens. We evaluated the effects of Wolbachia (wAlbB strain) on infection, dissemination and transmission of West Nile virus (WNV) in the naturally uninfected mosquito Culex tarsalis, which is an important WNV vector in North America. After inoculation into adult female mosquitoes, Wolbachia reached high titers and disseminated widely to numerous tissues including the head, thoracic flight muscles, fat body and ovarian follicles. Contrary to other systems, Wolbachia did not inhibit WNV in this mosquito. Rather, WNV infection rate was significantly higher in Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes compared to controls. Quantitative PCR of selected innate immune genes indicated that REL1 (the activator of the antiviral Toll immune pathway) was down regulated in Wolbachia-infected relative to control mosquitoes. This is the first observation of Wolbachia-induced enhancement of a human pathogen in mosquitoes, suggesting that caution should be applied before releasing Wolbachia-infected insects as part of a vector-borne disease control program.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.