to block the spread of Zika virus in mosquitoes in Brazil. In October 2016, it was announced that US$18 million in funding was being allocated for the use of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes to fight Zika and dengue viruses. Deployment is slated for early 2017 in Colombia and Brazil. In July 2017, Verily, the life sciences arm of Google's parent company Alphabet Inc., announced a plan to release about 20 million Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Fresno, California, in an attempt to combat the Zika virus. Singapore's National Environment Agency has teamed up with Verily to come up with an advanced, more efficient way to release male Wolbachia mosquitoes for Phase 2 of its study to suppress the urban Aedes aegypti mosquito population and fight dengue. On November 3, 2017, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registered Mosquito Mate, Inc. to release Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes in 20 US states and the District of Columbia. Effect on the sex-differentiation enzyme aromatase The enzyme aromatase is found to mediate sex-change in many species of fish. Wolbachia can affect the activity of aromatase in developing fish embryos. See also Intragenomic conflict Quorum sensing References Further reading External links Virtual Museum of Bacteria Wolbachia research portal at the National Science Foundation The Wolbachia Project at Vanderbilt University Images of Wolbachia Bacteria genera Endosymbiotic events Gram-negative bacteria Rickettsiales