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Size Alters Susceptibility of Vectors to Dengue Virus Infection and Dissemination

The size of arthropod vectors may affect their ability to transmit pathogens. Here we test the hypothesis that body size alters the susceptibility of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes to dengue virus (DENV) infection and subsequent dissemination throughout the body of the mosquito. After feeding on blood containing known quantities of virus, smaller-sized females were significantly more likely to become infected and to disseminate virus than larger individuals. The effects of size were stronger for Ae. aegypti and independent of rearing conditions. Ae. albopictus was more susceptible to DENV infection and had higher virus titer in the body than Ae. aegypti, yet infected Ae. aegypti disseminated DENV more readily than infected Ae. albopictus. These results are consistent with the concept that Ae. aegypti is a more competent vector of DENV and emphasize the importance of body size in determining adult infection parameters.

Received April 4, 2008. Accepted for publication July 28, 2008.

Acknowledgments: We thank D. Baptiste, D. Chisenhall, J. Dyer, K. Pesko, and S. Richards for extensive technical assistance in infecting mosquitoes; C. Mores for providing laboratory space, technical assistants, equipment, and protocols used in the infection experiment; N. Nishimura for assistance for measuring wing lengths; S. Fernandez for providing a dengue virus sample and protocols used in plaque assays; R. Nasci and P. Grimstad for mosquito eggs used to establish laboratory colonies; G. O’Meara for providing reference data on mosquito larval densities from field collections previously mentioned in another study; and W. Tabachnick for useful discussions and a review of the manuscript.

Financial support: This research was supported by a Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid of Research, a Gaylord Donnelley Environmental Postdoctoral Fellowship from Yale University Institute for Biospheric Studies, National Institutes of Health Grant R01-AI-044793, and National Science Foundation doctoral dissertation improvement Grant DEB-0407689.

^* Address correspondence to Barry W. Alto, Yale University, Osborn Memorial Laboratories, 165 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06520-8106. E-mail: barry.alto{at}yale.edu

Authors’ addresses: Barry W. Alto, Yale University, Osborn Memorial Laboratories, 165 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06520-8106, Tel: 203-432-6878, Fax: 203-432-2374, E-mail: barry.alto{at}yale.edu. Michael H. Reiskind, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, 127 Noble Research Center, Oklahoma State University, Still-water, OK 74078, E-mail: michael.h.reiskind{at}okstate.edu. L. Philip Lounibos, Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, University of Florida, 200 9th St., SE, Vero Beach, FL 32962, E-mail: lounibos{at}ufl.edu.