Global Transcriptome Analysis of Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes in Response to Zika Virus Infection

ABSTRACT Vector-borne viruses pose great risks to human health. Zika virus has recently emerged as a global threat, rapidly expanding its distribution. Understanding the interactions of the virus with mosquito vectors at the molecular level is vital for devising new approaches in inhibiting virus transmission. In this study, we embarked on analyzing the transcriptional response of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to Zika virus infection. Results showed large changes in both coding and long noncoding RNAs. Analysis of these genes showed similarities with other flaviviruses, including dengue virus, which is transmitted by the same mosquito vector. The outcomes provide a global picture of changes in the mosquito vector in response to Zika virus infection. Zika virus (ZIKV) of the Flaviviridae family is a recently emerged mosquito-borne virus that has been implicated in the surge of the number of microcephaly instances in South America. The recent rapid spread of the virus led to its declaration as a global health emergency by the World Health Organization. The virus is transmitted mainly by the mosquito Aedes aegypti, which is also the vector of dengue virus; however, little is known about the interactions of the virus with the mosquito vector. In this study, we investigated the transcriptome profiles of whole A. aegypti mosquitoes in response to ZIKV infection at 2, 7, and 14 days postinfection using transcriptome sequencing. Results showed changes in the abundance of a large number of transcripts at each time point following infection, with 18 transcripts commonly changed among the three time points. Gene ontology analysis revealed that most of the altered genes are involved in metabolic processes, cellular processes, and proteolysis. In addition, 486 long intergenic noncoding RNAs that were altered upon ZIKV infection were identified. Further, we found changes of a number of potential mRNA target genes correlating with those of altered host microRNAs. The outcomes provide a basic understanding of A. aegypti responses to ZIKV and help to determine host factors involved in replication or mosquito host antiviral response against the virus. IMPORTANCE Vector-borne viruses pose great risks to human health. Zika virus has recently emerged as a global threat, rapidly expanding its distribution. Understanding the interactions of the virus with mosquito vectors at the molecular level is vital for devising new approaches in inhibiting virus transmission. In this study, we embarked on analyzing the transcriptional response of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to Zika virus infection. Results showed large changes in both coding and long noncoding RNAs. Analysis of these genes showed similarities with other flaviviruses, including dengue virus, which is transmitted by the same mosquito vector. The outcomes provide a global picture of changes in the mosquito vector in response to Zika virus infection.

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Global transcriptome analysis of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in response to Zika virus infection

10.1101/179416 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kayvan Etebari ◽

Shivanand Hegde ◽

Miguel A Saldaña ◽

Steven G Widen ◽

Thomas G Wood ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Virus Infection ◽

Aedes Aegypti ◽

Dengue Virus ◽

Zika Virus ◽

Target Genes ◽

World Health ◽

Mosquito Vector ◽

Zikv Infection ◽

Zika Virus Infection ◽

Non Coding Rnas

AbstractZika virus (ZIKV) of the Flaviviridae family is a recently emerged mosquito-borne virus that has been implicated in the surge of the number of microcephaly instances in South America. The recent rapid spread of the virus led to its declaration as a global health emergency by the World Health Organization. The virus is transmitted mainly by the mosquito Aedes aegypti that also vectors dengue virus, however little is known about the interactions of the virus with the mosquito vector. In this study, we investigated the transcriptome profiles of whole Ae. aegypti mosquitoes in response to ZIKV infection at 2, 7, and 14 days post-infection using RNA-Seq. Results showed changes in the abundance of a large number of transcripts at each time point following infection, with 18 transcripts commonly changed among the three time points. Gene ontology analysis revealed that most of the altered genes are involved in metabolic process, cellular process and proteolysis. In addition, 486 long intergenic non-coding RNAs were identified that were altered upon ZIKV infection. Further, we found correlational changes of a number of potential mRNA target genes with that of altered host microRNAs. The outcomes provide a basic understanding of Ae. aegypti responses to ZIKV and helps to determine host factors involved in replication or mosquito host anti-viral response against the virus.ImportanceVector-borne viruses pose great risks on human health. Zika virus has recently emerged as a global threat, rapidly expanding its distribution. Understanding the interactions of the virus with mosquito vectors at the molecular level is vital for devising new approaches in inhibiting virus transmission. In this study, we embarked on analyzing the transcriptional response of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to Zika virus infection. Results showed large changes both in coding and long non-coding RNAs. Analysis of these genes showed similarities with other flaviviruses, including dengue virus, which is transmitted by the same mosquito vector. The outcomes provide a global picture of changes in the mosquito vector in response to Zika virus infection.

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Transcriptional Response of Wolbachia to Dengue Virus Infection in Cells of the Mosquito Aedes aegypti

mSphere ◽

10.1128/msphere.00433-21 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Michael Leitner ◽

Cameron Bishop ◽

Sassan Asgari

Keyword(s):

Virus Infection ◽

Aedes Aegypti ◽

Dengue Virus ◽

Yellow Fever ◽

Transcriptional Response ◽

Endosymbiotic Bacterium ◽

Dengue Virus Infection ◽

Content Type ◽

Virus Inhibition ◽

Pathogenic Viruses

Aedes aegypti is a vector of several pathogenic viruses, including dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever viruses, which are of importance to human health. Wolbachia is an endosymbiotic bacterium currently used in transinfected mosquitoes to suppress replication and transmission of dengue viruses. However, the mechanism of Wolbachia -mediated virus inhibition is not fully understood.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Human antibodies to the dengue virus E-dimer epitope have therapeutic activity against Zika virus infection.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.731312411.793539193 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Anirban Basu ◽

Sourish Ghosh

Keyword(s):

Virus Infection ◽

Dengue Virus ◽

Zika Virus ◽

Therapeutic Activity ◽

Human Antibodies ◽

Zika Virus Infection

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Sequential Infection of Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes with Chikungunya Virus and Zika Virus Enhances Early Zika Virus Transmission

Insects ◽

10.3390/insects9040177 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 177 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Tereza Magalhaes ◽

Alexis Robison ◽

Michael Young ◽

William Black ◽

Brian Foy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Aedes Aegypti ◽

Blood Meal ◽

Zika Virus ◽

Chikungunya Virus ◽

Vector Competence ◽

Virus Transmission ◽

Mosquito Vector ◽

Molecular Aspects ◽

Virus Interactions ◽

Sequential Infection

In urban settings, chikungunya, Zika, and dengue viruses are transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Since these viruses co-circulate in several regions, coinfection in humans and vectors may occur, and human coinfections have been frequently reported. Yet, little is known about the molecular aspects of virus interactions within hosts and how they contribute to arbovirus transmission dynamics. We have previously shown that Aedes aegypti exposed to chikungunya and Zika viruses in the same blood meal can become coinfected and transmit both viruses simultaneously. However, mosquitoes may also become coinfected by multiple, sequential feeds on single infected hosts. Therefore, we tested whether sequential infection with chikungunya and Zika viruses impacts mosquito vector competence. We exposed Ae. aegypti mosquitoes first to one virus and 7 days later to the other virus and compared infection, dissemination, and transmission rates between sequentially and single infected groups. We found that coinfection rates were high after sequential exposure and that mosquitoes were able to co-transmit both viruses. Surprisingly, chikungunya virus coinfection enhanced Zika virus transmission 7 days after the second blood meal. Our data demonstrate heterologous arbovirus synergism within mosquitoes, by unknown mechanisms, leading to enhancement of transmission under certain conditions.

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Experimental Zika virus infection in Aedes aegypti: Susceptibility, transmission & co-infection with dengue & chikungunya viruses

The Indian Journal of Medical Research ◽

10.4103/ijmr.ijmr_1142_17 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 147 (1) ◽

pp. 88 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

DevendraT Mourya ◽

MangeshD Gokhale ◽

TriparnaD Majumdar ◽

PragyaD Yadav ◽

Vimal Kumar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Virus Infection ◽

Aedes Aegypti ◽

Zika Virus ◽

Zika Virus Infection

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Transcriptional response of Wolbachia-transinfected Aedes aegypti mosquito cells to dengue virus at early stages of infection

Journal of General Virology ◽

10.1099/jgv.0.001694 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 103 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Michael Leitner ◽

Kayvan Etebari ◽

Sassan Asgari

Keyword(s):

Aedes Aegypti ◽

Dengue Virus ◽

Viral Infections ◽

Transcriptional Response ◽

Denv Infection ◽

Content Type ◽

Public Health Burden ◽

Immune Genes ◽

Link Type ◽

Early Stages

Mosquito-borne flaviviruses are responsible for viral infections and represent a considerable public health burden. Aedes aegypti is the principal vector of dengue virus (DENV), therefore understanding the intrinsic virus–host interactions is vital, particularly in the presence of the endosymbiont Wolbachia, which blocks virus replication in mosquitoes. Here, we examined the transcriptional response of Wolbachia -transinfected Ae. aegypti Aag2 cells to DENV infection. We identified differentially expressed immune genes that play a key role in the activation of anti-viral defence such as the Toll and immune deficiency pathways. Further, genes encoding cytosine and N6-adenosine methyltransferases and SUMOylation, involved in post-transcriptional modifications, an antioxidant enzyme, and heat-shock response were up-regulated at the early stages of DENV infection and are reported here for the first time. Additionally, several long non-coding RNAs were among the differentially regulated genes. Our results provide insight into Wolbachia -transinfected Ae. aegypti’s initial virus recognition and transcriptional response to DENV infection.

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