AlbB remains stable in over 15 years but exhibits genetic background-dependent variation in virus blocking.

The ability of the maternally transmitted endosymbiotic bacterium to induce cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) and virus blocking makes it a promising weapon for combatting mosquito-borne diseases through either suppression or replacement of wild-type populations. Recent field trials show that both approaches significantly reduce the incidence of dengue fever in humans. However, new questions emerge about how -mosquito associations will co-evolve over time and whether -mediated virus blocking will be affected by the genetic diversity of mosquitoes and arboviruses in the real world. Here, we have compared the density and CI expression of two AlbB-infected lines transinfected 15 years apart. We have also assessed AlbB-mediated virus blocking against dengue (DENV), Zika (ZIKV), and Chikungunya (CHIKV) viruses and examined whether host genetic backgrounds modulate viral blocking effects by comparing ZIKV infection in mosquitoes with a Mexican genetic background to those with a Singaporean background. Our results show that over 15 years, AlbB maintained the capacity to form a stable association with in terms of both density and CI expression. There were variations in AlbB-induced virus blocking against CHIKV, DENV, and ZIKV, and higher inhibitory effects on ZIKV in mosquitoes on the Singaporean genetic background than on the Mexican background. These results provide important information concerning the robustness and long-term stability of as a biocontrol agent for arbovirus disease control.