Wolbachia

Study of Zika virus evolution under Wolbachia selective pressure

Project overview

• Mosquitoes fed on blood or ZIKV-infected mice
• Some mosquitoes were infected with Wmel (Wolbachia sp.); others were given Tetracycline ("Tet")
• We see reduced ZIKV dissemination (movement from midgut to legs to saliva) in the Wmel group
• We are interested in how the ZIKV population evolves during Wolbachia co-infection

Goals

• Calculate barcode frequencies
• Compare Tet to Wmel over time
  • Nucleotide diversity
  • Barcode frequency