High genomic stability of wMel Wolbachia after introgression in three geographically distinct Aedes aegypti populations

Abstract The introgression of wMel Wolbachia into Aedes aegypti populations is being used for the biocontrol of arboviruses such as dengue and chikungunya in 15 countries to date. A wMel infection in Ae. aegypti both reduces the transmission of viruses by the mosquito and causes a reproductive manipulation that aids wMel introgression into naïve populations. However, a critical concern is whether wMel could evolve over time, potentially diminishing these desired phenotypes. Here, we investigated the stability of the wMel genome in Ae. aegypti released for biocontrol in Colombia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. We sequenced the wMel genome at the start of releases and up to six years after wMel introgression into each population. Our study identifies very few genomic changes, suggesting the wMel genome is not rapidly evolving despite its release into three geographically different field sites and subsequent exposure to novel environments. These results align with previous wMel sequencing studies from Australia and provide strong evidence for the long-term genomic stability of wMel, reinforcing its potential as a reliable biocontrol tool against Ae. aegypti-transmitted arboviruses. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Footnotes Revision of introduction. Figure 2 and Table1 corrected to fix error. Table 2, Supplemental Table 1 & 2 updated to reflect re-run analysis that excluded SNPs with SB>=10. Supplemental Figure 2 added.