Analysis of variance of <i>Wolbachia</i> density.

<div> Novel and alternative vector control approaches using a sterile male-based release to suppress <i>Aedes aegypti</i> mosquito vectors have recently been tested in the field in many countries. These approaches included the sterile insect technique (SIT), incompatible insect technique (IIT), and a combination of both techniques. In this study, we conducted a series of experiments to compare the quality between radiation-based and <i>Wolbachia</i>-induced sterile males in terms of flight ability, sterility, mating competitiveness, survival rate, and longevity. <i>Aedes aegypti</i> mosquitoes irradiated at 50 Gy (SIT) and those trans-infected with <i>w</i>AlbB <i>Wolbachia</i> (IIT) were used for quality comparison. Our results showed that irradiated and <i>Wolbachia</i> trans-infected males were not significantly different in flight ability (<i>p</i> > 0.05) and both could induce sterility in wild-type females. In addition, although irradiation at 50 Gy or <i>Wolbachia</i> trans-infection reduced male mating competitiveness, combined irradiation and <i>Wolbachia w</i>AlbB trans-infection increased male competitiveness at the one-to-one ratio. Increasing the number of sterile males released could compensate for reduced competitiveness but it does not make them more competitive. Irradiation did not affect the survival and longevity of irradiated males, but it showed significant negative impacts on females (<i>p</i> < 0.05); while the opposite was observed in the case of <i>Wolbachia</i> infection, i.e., with significant increase in the survival rate of <i>Wolbachia</i> trans-infected males (<i>p</i> < 0.05), but both survival and longevity were reduced in <i>Wolbachia</i> trans-infected females with no significant impacts (<i>p</i> > 0.05). In conclusion, neither irradiation nor <i>Wolbachia</i> trans-infection significantly affected the quality of sterile males except their mating competitiveness; but this could compensate by increasing the number of sterile males released. Sterility could be induced by either 50 Gy irradiation or <i>w</i>AlbB trans-infection. Mating competitiveness results showed that a higher number of sterile males produced by irradiation need to be released in comparison to those produced by <i>Wolbachia</i> trans-infection. Our results should be useful for planning SIT, IIT, or a combination for <i>Ae</i>. <i>aegypti</i> vector control. </div>