The Extrinsic Incubation Period of Zika Virus in Florida Mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus

The Asian genotype of Zika virus (ZIKV) emerged in Brazil in 2015 and subsequently spread throughout the Americas. In July 2016, Florida experienced its first locally acquired ZIKV infection in the continental U.S. Concerns about health risks from ZIKV infection have increased the need to investigate the interactions between potential mosquito vectors and ZIKV. The time it takes for an arbovirus to propagate within a mosquito, and become transmissible, is the extrinsic incubation period (EIP). The EIP for potential mosquito vectors in Florida is unknown. To address this gap in the understanding of ZIKV epidemiology, Florida Aedes aegypti (L.) and Ae. albopictus (Skuse) were orally exposed to ZIKV infected blood meals and fully engorged mosquitoes were held at a constant temperature of 28 °C through the duration of the experiment. Saliva expectorates were collected from cohorts of mosquitoes and tested for the presence of ZIKV at three-day intervals over a period of 24 days to allow for an evaluation of the EIP of the emergent Asian lineage of ZIKV. High rates of infected bodies in Ae. albopictus (75–94%) and Ae. aegypti (68–86%) were observed throughout the incubation period, which did not differ by species. Higher rates of disseminated infection were observed later during the incubation period but did not differ between species. We calculated the 50% EIP to be shorter in Ae. albopictus than Ae. aegypti (16.2 and 18.2 days post infection, respectively). The competence for ZIKV observed in both species may contribute to high rates of ZIKV transmission in Florida populations.

Download Full-text

Experimental Assessment of Zika Virus Mechanical Transmission by Aedes aegypti

Viruses ◽

10.3390/v11080695 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. 695 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Antoine Boullis ◽

Nadège Cordel ◽

Cécile Herrmann-Storck ◽

Anubis Vega-Rúa

Keyword(s):

Experimental Design ◽

Aedes Aegypti ◽

Zika Virus ◽

Infectious Virus ◽

Viral Rna ◽

Mechanical Transmission ◽

Experimental Assessment ◽

Infected Blood ◽

Virus Titration ◽

Blood Meals

The pandemic emergence of several mosquito-borne viruses highlights the need to understand the different ways in which they can be transmitted by vectors to human hosts. In this study, we evaluated the propensity of Aedes aegypti to transmit mechanically Zika virus (ZIKV) using an experimental design. Mosquitoes were allowed to feed on ZIKV-infected blood and were then rapidly transferred to feed on ZIKV-free blood until they finished their meal. The uninfected blood meals, the mosquito abdomens, as well as the mouthparts dissected from fully and partially engorged mosquitoes were analyzed using RT-qPCR and/or virus titration. All the fully engorged mosquito abdomens were ZIKV-infected, whereas their mouthparts were all ZIKV-negative. Nonetheless, one of the partially engorged mosquitoes carried infectious particles on mouthparts. No infectious virus was found in the receiver blood meals, while viral RNA was detected in 9% of the samples (2/22). Thus, mechanical transmission of ZIKV may sporadically occur via Ae. aegypti bite. However, as the number of virions detected on mouthparts (2 particles) is not sufficient to induce infection in a naïve host, our results indicate that mechanical transmission does not impact ZIKV epidemiology.

Download Full-text

Impact of temperature on the extrinsic incubation period of Zika virus in Aedes aegypti

PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases ◽

10.1371/journal.pntd.0008047 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 14 (3) ◽

pp. e0008047 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Olivia C. Winokur ◽

Bradley J. Main ◽

Jay Nicholson ◽

Christopher M. Barker

Keyword(s):

Aedes Aegypti ◽

Incubation Period ◽

Zika Virus ◽

Extrinsic Incubation Period

Download Full-text

Experimental studies of susceptibility of Italian Aedes albopictus to Zika virus

Eurosurveillance ◽

10.2807/1560-7917.es.2016.21.18.30223 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 21 (18) ◽

Cited By ~ 84

Author(s):

Marco Di Luca ◽

Francesco Severini ◽

Luciano Toma ◽

Daniela Boccolini ◽

Roberto Romi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Incubation Period ◽

Aedes Albopictus ◽

Zika Virus ◽

Transmission Rate ◽

Vector Competence ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Italian Population ◽

Zikv Infection ◽

Extrinsic Incubation Period ◽

Dissemination Rate

We report a study on vector competence of an Italian population of Aedes albopictus for Zika virus (ZIKV). Ae. albopictus was susceptible to ZIKV infection (infection rate: 10%), and the virus could disseminate and was secreted in the mosquito’s saliva (dissemination rate: 29%; transmission rate: 29%) after an extrinsic incubation period of 11 days. The observed vector competence was lower than that of an Ae. aegypti colony tested in parallel.

Download Full-text

Analysis of Zika virus capsid-Aedes aegypti mosquito interactome reveals pro-viral host factors critical for establishing infection

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-021-22966-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Rommel J. Gestuveo ◽

Jamie Royle ◽

Claire L. Donald ◽

Douglas J. Lamont ◽

Edward C. Hutchinson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Aedes Aegypti ◽

Protein Interactions ◽

Zika Virus ◽

Label Free ◽

Protein Protein Interactions ◽

Zikv Infection ◽

Ubiquitin Protein Ligase ◽

Mosquito Cells ◽

Endoplasmic Reticulum Protein ◽

Arboviral Diseases

AbstractThe escalating global prevalence of arboviral diseases emphasizes the need to improve our understanding of their biology. Research in this area has been hindered by the lack of molecular tools for studying virus-mosquito interactions. Here, we develop an Aedes aegypti cell line which stably expresses Zika virus (ZIKV) capsid proteins in order to study virus-vector protein-protein interactions through quantitative label-free proteomics. We identify 157 interactors and show that eight have potentially pro-viral activity during ZIKV infection in mosquito cells. Notably, silencing of transitional endoplasmic reticulum protein TER94 prevents ZIKV capsid degradation and significantly reduces viral replication. Similar results are observed if the TER94 ortholog (VCP) functioning is blocked with inhibitors in human cells. In addition, we show that an E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase, UBR5, mediates the interaction between TER94 and ZIKV capsid. Our study demonstrates a pro-viral function for TER94/VCP during ZIKV infection that is conserved between human and mosquito cells.

Download Full-text

The Role of Predation in Determining Traits of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) and Infection With Zika Virus

Journal of Medical Entomology ◽

10.1093/jme/tjab004 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Shawna Bellamy ◽

Barry W Alto

Keyword(s):

Aedes Aegypti ◽

Zika Virus ◽

Life History Traits ◽

Immature Stages ◽

Direct Effects ◽

Infected Blood ◽

Predator Prey ◽

Susceptibility To Infection ◽

Density Reduction

Abstract Non-lethal predator-prey interactions during the immature stages can cause significant changes to mosquito life history traits and their ability to transmit pathogens as adults. Treatment manipulations using mosquitoes Aedes aegypti (L.) and Toxoryhnchites rutilus (Coquillett) were performed during the immature stages to explore the potential impacts of non-lethal interactions on adult susceptibility to infection, disseminated infection and saliva infection of Ae. aegypti following ingestion of Zika virus-infected blood. Treatments inducing density reduction resulted in reduced development time and survivorship to adulthood. However, effects of treatment did not alter infection, dissemination, or saliva infection. These observations indicate that, while non-lethal predation may impact some traits that influence population dynamics and transmission of pathogens, there were no direct effects on mosquito-arbovirus interactions.

Download Full-text

Zika mosquito vectors: the jury is still out

F1000Research ◽

10.12688/f1000research.9839.1 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

pp. 2546 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Walter S. Leal

Keyword(s):

Aedes Aegypti ◽

Yellow Fever ◽

Culex Quinquefasciatus ◽

Zika Virus ◽

Field Data ◽

Vector Competence ◽

Sexual Transmission ◽

Mosquito Vectors ◽

Yellow Fever Mosquito ◽

The Common

After a 40-year hiatus, the International Congress of Entomology (ICE 2016) convened in Orlando, Florida (September 25-30, 2016). One of the symposia at ICE 2016, the Zika Symposium, covered multiple aspects of the Zika epidemic, including epidemiology, sexual transmission, genetic tools for reducing transmission, and particularly vector competence. While there was a consensus among participants that the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, is a vector of the Zika virus, there is growing evidence indicating that the range of mosquito vectors might be wider than anticipated. In particular, three independent groups from Canada, China, and Brazil presented and discussed laboratory and field data strongly suggesting that the southern house mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus, also known as the common mosquito, is highly likely to be a vector in certain environments.

Download Full-text

THE EFFECT OF VARIOUS TEMPERATURES IN MODIFYING THE EXTRINSIC INCUBATION PERIOD OF THE YELLOW FEVER VIRUS IN AËDES AEGYPTI*

American Journal of Epidemiology ◽

10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a117853 ◽

1932 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 163-176 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

NELSON C. DAVIS

Keyword(s):

Aedes Aegypti ◽

Incubation Period ◽

Yellow Fever ◽

Yellow Fever Virus ◽

Fever Virus ◽

Extrinsic Incubation Period

Download Full-text

Low Aedes aegypti Vector Competence for Zika Virus from Viremic Rhesus Macaques

Viruses ◽

10.3390/v12121345 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (12) ◽

pp. 1345

Author(s):

Rosilainy Surubi Fernandes ◽

Mariana Rocha David ◽

Filipe Vieira Santos De Abreu ◽

Anielly Ferreira-de-Brito ◽

Noemi R. Gardinali ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Viral Load ◽

Aedes Aegypti ◽

Short Duration ◽

Zika Virus ◽

Rhesus Macaques ◽

Vector Competence ◽

Transmission Dynamics ◽

Zikv Infection ◽

Transmission Rates ◽

Time Points

Despite worldwide efforts to understand the transmission dynamics of Zika virus (ZIKV), scanty evaluation has been made on the vector competence of Aedes aegypti fed directly on viremic human and non-human primates (NHPs). We blood-fed Ae. aegypti from two districts in Rio de Janeiro on six ZIKV infected pregnant rhesus macaques at several time points, half of which were treated with Sofosbuvir (SOF). Mosquitoes were analyzed for vector competence after 3, 7 and 14 days of incubation. Although viremia extended up to eight days post monkey inoculation, only mosquitoes fed on the day of the peak of viremia, recorded on day two, became infected. The influence of SOF treatment could not be assessed because the drug was administered just after mosquito feeding on day two. The global infection, dissemination and transmission rates were quite low (4.09%, 1.91% and 0.54%, respectively); no mosquito was infected when viremia was below 1.26 × 105 RNA copies/mL. In conclusion, Ae. aegypti vector competence for ZIKV from macaques is low, likely to be due to low viral load and the short duration of ZIKV viremia in primates suitable for infecting susceptible mosquitoes. If ZIKV infection in human and macaques behaves similarly, transmission of the Zika virus in nature is most strongly affected by vector density.

Download Full-text

Asian lineage of Zika virus RNA pseudoknot may induce ribosomal frameshift and produce a new neuroinvasive protein ZIKV-NS1’

10.1101/105809 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Tiago Tambonis ◽

Vinícius G. Contessoto ◽

Cíntia Bittar ◽

Marília F. Calmon ◽

Maurício L. Nogueira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Zika Virus ◽

Ns1 Protein ◽

Ribosomal Frameshift ◽

Zikv Infection ◽

Potential Target ◽

Virus Rna ◽

Alternative Protein ◽

Asian Lineage ◽

Rna Pseudoknot

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a threat to humanity, and understanding its neuroinvasiveness is a major challenge. Microcephaly observed in neonates in Brazil is associated with ZIKV that belongs to the Asian lineage. What distinguishes the neuroinvasiveness between the RNA lineages from Asia and Africa is still unknown. Here we identify an aspect that may explain the different behavior between the two lineages. The distinction between the two groups is the occurrence of an alternative protein NS1’ (ZIKV-NS1’), which happens through a pseudoknot in the virus RNA that induces a ribosomal frameshift. Presence of NS1’ protein is also observed in other Flavivirus that are neuroinvasive, and when NS1’ production issuppressed, neuroinvasiveness is reduced.1 This evidence gives grounds to suggest that the ZIKV-NS1’ occurring in the Asian lineage is responsible for neuro-tropism, which causes the neuro-pathologies associated with ZIKV infection, of which microcephaly is the most dev astating. The existence of ZIKV-NS1’, which only exists in the Asian lineage, was inferred through bioinformatic methods, and it has yet to be experimentally observed. If its occurrence is confirmed, it will be a potential target in fighting the neuro-diseases associated with ZIKV.

Download Full-text