Abstract
The global resurgence of Aedes-borne arboviruses (dengue, chikungunya, and Zika) underscores the need for innovative vector control strategies. In Iran—a region at risk for arbovirus emergence due to invasive Aedes albopictus and Ae. aegypti mosquitoes— we investigated the natural occurrence of Wolbachia infections. Screening of field-collected and laboratory-reared mosquitoes revealed the presence of two Wolbachia strains: wAlbB in Ae. albopictus and wPip in Ae. aegypti. Notably, detection of wPip in the wild Ae. aegypti represents a potential first report globally, as this species has been historically considered uninfected in natural populations. Wolbachia prevalence was significantly higher in laboratory-reared mosquitoes and Ae. albopictus. Multivariable analysis confirmed that Ae. aegypti had significantly lower odds of Wolbachia infection compared to Ae. albopictus (adjusted OR = 0.12, 95% CI: 0.03–0.45, p = 0.002), and infection odds were also significantly lower in field-collected mosquitoes from Guilan (OR = 0.28), Mazandaran (OR = 0.05), and Hormozgan (OR = 0.14) provinces relative to insectary-reared specimens (all p < 0.05). These findings provide critical baseline data for evaluating the feasibility of Wolbachia-based interventions in Iran, where invasive Aedes populations could facilitate arbovirus transmission. This study highlights the importance of characterizing native Wolbachia infections to inform future biocontrol strategies against emerging mosquito-borne diseases.
Data availability
All relevant data are included within the manuscript. Sequence data have been deposited in GenBank under accession numbers PV122193–PV122209 and PX654237-PX654239. The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author, Naseh Maleki-Ravasan, on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the anonymous individuals for their assistance in mosquito collection.
Funding
This study was financially supported by the Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran, grant nos. 2052 and 2293, awarded to the first and corresponding authors. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
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N.M.-R. and F.K. conceived and designed the study. F.K. collected a large number of specimens and identified the mosquito species. E.M.-A. and M.S.-V. provided mosquito specimens from Ardabil and Guilan Provinces, respectively. H.Y. and A.R. reared *Aedes* spp. in the insectary. S.R. and F.K. carried out the molecular detection of *Wolbachia*. N.M.-R. performed the bioinformatics analysis. M.S.-V. and M.H.P.V. collected arboviral disease data. N.M.-R. wrote the initial draft of the manuscript and revised it critically. All authors reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Karimian, F., Rahimy, S., Yousefi, H. et al. Natural infection of Aedes albopictus with the wAlbB strain and Ae. aegypti with the wPip strain of Wolbachia in Iran. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-40993-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-40993-7
