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Buffalo Flies Receptive to Wolbachia Infection: An Opportunity for Population Control?

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Madhav, M., Brown, G. W., Morgan, J. A. T., Asgari, S., McGraw, E. and James, P. (2019) Buffalo Flies Receptive to Wolbachia Infection: An Opportunity for Population Control? Proceedings, 36 (1). p. 79. ISSN 2504-3900

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Article Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2019036079

Publisher URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2504-3900/36/1/79

Abstract

Buffalo flies, Haematobia (irritans) exigua (BF), are obligate haematophagous ectoparasites of cattle that cause significant economic and welfare impacts in northern Australian cattle. With climate change and the development of resistance to commonly used chemicals, BF are rapidly spreading southwards. Wolbachia is a maternally transmitted bacterial endosymbiont of insects that induces a range of effects on its host, including cytoplasmic incompatibility (male sterility), reduced fitness, and inhibition of pathogen transmission. We are examining the potential for use of Wolbachia in area-wide control of BF. Following a survey of Australian BF populations that showed Wolbachia was not present, we have tested embryonic microinjection, pupal injection and injection of adults as a first step towards the development of a Wolbachia infected BF line. Here we report distribution and growth of Wolbachia in somatic and germline tissue of BF injected with the three Wolbachia strains; wAlbB, wMel and wMelPop. Our results to date suggest that pupal or adult injection may be a more suitable method for transinfecting BF than embryonic microinjection. We also demonstrate Wolbachia induced fitness effects in injected BF including shortened lifespan, decreased pupal emergence, and reduced egg production. Future work will focus on establishing a stably infected BF strain, towards the design of Wolbachia-based control programs for BF.

Item Type:Article
Business groups:Animal Science
Additional Information:Presented at the Third International Tropical Agriculture Conference (TROPAG 2019), Brisbane, Australia, 11–13 November 2019.
Keywords:haematobia; buffalo fly; Wolbachia; biocontrol
Subjects:Science > Entomology
Animal culture > Cattle
Veterinary medicine
Live Archive:28 Apr 2020 02:22
Last Modified:03 Sep 2021 16:45

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