Wolbachia bacteria as a ‘pesticide’ against mosquito populations-Stephen Dobson - Feb 24, 2021

Feb 24, 2021
This webinar is part of a series of webinars on the topic of genetic biocontrol, also referred to genetic pest control and genetic control. The intracellular bacteria, Wolbachia, is found in many insect species and can affect many aspects of insect biology. In mosquitoes it can cause Cytoplasmic Incompatibility and this can be used as a means to suppress natural populations of uninfected mosquitoes. This webinar describes this application of CI and in technological innovations that are making this form of insect control increasingly practical on a large scale.

00:00 Speaker Introduction (David O’Brochta, Ph.D.)
01:58 Stephen Dobson - Introduction
02:47 Male-based Control Methods - Limitations
06:01 Wolbachia/Cytoplasmic Incompatibility- Basics
12:17 Wolbachia-based Strategies
14:03 Population Replacement
15:28 Population Suppression
16:25 Cage Trials: Population Suppression
17:49 Field Trials: Regulatory Approval
18:35 Field Trials: Logistics
21:43 Field Trials: Overview of Sites
25:43 Johanna Ohm – Introduction to Debug Program
26:51 Wolbachia Review
28:10 Making Male Mosquitoes is Complicated
30:18 Technical Improvements - Overview
31:53 Mass Rearing Improvements
41:25 Sex Sorting Improvements - Pupa
44:24 Sex Sorting Improvements - Adults
48:50 Release and Distribution Improvements
51:08 Field Trial: Fresno, California
58:40 Field Trial: Singapore
1:02:00 Field Trial: Ponce, Puerto Rico
1:06:21 Questions and Answers