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There is currently considerable interest and practical progress in using the endosymbiotic bacteria  Wolbachia  as a vector control agent for human vector-borne diseases. Such vector control strategies may require the introduction of multiple, different  Wolbachia  strains into target vector populations, necessitating the identification and characterization of appropriate endosymbiont variants. Here, we report preliminary characterization of  w Flu, a native  Wolbachia  from the neotropical mosquito  Aedes fluviatilis , and evaluate its potential as a vector control agent by confirming its ability to cause cytoplasmic incompatibility, and measuring its effect on three parameters determining host fitness (survival, fecundity and fertility), as well as vector competence (susceptibility) for pathogen infection. Using an aposymbiotic strain of  Ae. fluviatilis  cured of its native  Wolbachia  by antibiotic treatment, we show that in its natural host  w Flu causes incomplete, but high levels of, unidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility, has high rates of maternal transmission, and no detectable fitness costs, indicating a high capacity to rapidly spread through host populations. However,  w Flu does not inhibit, and even enhances, oocyst infection with the avian malaria parasite  Plasmodium gallinaceum . The stage- and sex-specific density of  w Flu was relatively low, and with limited tissue distribution, consistent with the lack of virulence and pathogen interference/symbiont-mediated protection observed. Unexpectedly, the density of  w Flu was also shown to be specifically-reduced in the ovaries after bloodfeeding  Ae. fluviatilis . Overall, our observations indicate that the  Wolbachia  strain  w Flu has the potential to be used as a vector control agent, and suggests that appreciable mutualistic coevolution has occurred between this endosymbiont and its natural host. Future work will be needed to determine whether  w Flu has virulent host effects and/or exhibits pathogen interference when artificially-transfected to the novel mosquito hosts that are the vectors of human pathogens.

wFlu: Characterization and Evaluation of a Native Wolbachia from the Mosquito Aedes fluviatilis as a Potential Vector Control Agent