Wolbachia: características gerais, interferências na reprodução de artrópodes e sua utilização contra o dengue vírus

Abstract

Endosymbiont bacteria are found in several species of arthropods. Wolbachia is a bacterium that is present in about 70% of the arthropods, belonging to the phylum Alphaproteobacteria of the family of Anaplasmataceae. It is currently gaining prominence in public health and research projects because of its ability to block and protect arthropod species from viral infections and its ability to reduce the life span of mosquitoes transmitting Dengue. The objective of the present work was to perform a literature review, obtaining a global view on several aspects that guide Wolbachia. For that, surveys of scientific articles were carried out in a database in NCBI (PUBMED), among others. The infection process can occur naturally in two ways: vertical or horizontal transference. The bacteria are capable of altering host phenotypes, which may be beneficial or harmful, some of the main altered mechanisms are cytoplasmic incompatibility and death of males, which are important factors that promote the successful dissemination of the bacterium within arthropod populations. Blockade of the virus by the bacteria has been proven after the inoculation of the bacterium in Aedes aegypti, proving to be an important mechanism for the reduction of dengue cases, since the bacterium overlaps the virus and confers a "immunity" to the mosquito. It is concluded that this methodology to control the vector of dengue is considered ecological, low cost and effective, since the epidemiological cases can be diminished.