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- Cholleti, Harindranath, et al.
(author)
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Genetic characterization of a novel picorna-like virus in Culex spp. Mosquitoes from Mozambique
- 2018
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In: Virology Journal. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1743-422X. ; 15
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Mosquitoes are the potential vectors for a variety of viruses that can cause diseases in the human and animal populations. Viruses in the order Picornavirales infect a broad range of hosts, including mosquitoes. In this study, we aimed to characterize a novel picorna-like virus from the Culex spp. of mosquitoes from the Zambezi Valley of Mozambique.& para;& para;Methods: The extracted RNA from mosquito pools was pre-amplified with the sequence independent single primer amplification (SISPA) method and subjected to high-throughput sequencing using the Ion Torrent platform. Reads that are classified as Iflaviridae, Picornaviridae and Dicistroviridae were assembled by CodonCode Aligner and SPAdes. Gaps between the viral contigs were sequenced by PCR. The genomic ends were analyzed by 5' and 3' RACE PCRs. The ORF was predicted with the NCBI ORF finder. The conserved domains were identified with ClustalW multiple sequence alignment, and a phylogenetic tree was built with MEGA. The presence of the virus in individual mosquito pools was detected by RT-PCR assay.& para;& para;Results: A near full-length viral genome (9740 nt) was obtained in Culex mosquitoes that encoded a complete ORF (3112 aa), named Culex picorna-like virus (CuPV-1). The predicted ORF had 38% similarity to the Hubei picorna-like virus 35. The sequence of the conserved domains, Helicase-Protease-RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, were identified by multiple sequence alignment and found to be at the 3' end, similar to iflaviruses. Phylogenetic analysis of the putative RdRP amino acid sequences indicated that the virus clustered with members of the Iflaviridae family. CuPV-1 was detected in both Culex and Mansonia individual pools with low infection rates.& para;& para;Conclusions: The study reported a highly divergent, near full-length picorna-like virus genome from Culex spp. mosquitoes from Mozambique. The discovery and characterization of novel viruses in mosquitoes is an initial step, which will provide insights into mosquito-virus interaction mechanisms, genetic diversity and evolution.
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- Cholleti, Harindranath, et al.
(author)
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Vector-borne viruses and their detection by viral metagenomics
- 2018
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In: Infection Ecology & Epidemiology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 2000-8686. ; 8
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Arthropods, such as mosquitoes and ticks, are important vectors for different viruses (so called vector-borne viruses), some of which cause a significant number of human and animal deaths every year as well as affect public health worldwide. Dengue virus, yellow fever virus, chikungunya virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, tick-borne encephalitis virus and Zika virus are just a few examples of important vector-borne viruses. The majority of all vector-borne viruses have an RNA genome, which routinely undergo genetic modifications. The changes in the genome, apart from the environmental issues, can also influence the spread of viruses to new habitats and hosts and lead to the emergence of novel viruses, which may become a threat to public health. Therefore, it is important to investigate the viruses circulating in arthropod vectors to understand their diversity, host range and evolutionary history as well as to predict new emerging pathogens. The choice of detection method is important, as most of the methods can only detect viruses that have been previously well described. Viral metagenomics is a useful tool to simultaneously identify all the viruses present in a sample, including novel viruses. This review describes vector-borne viruses, their maintenance and emergence in nature, and detection using viral metagenomics.
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- Cholleti, Harindranath, et al.
(author)
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Viral metagenomics reveals the presence of highly divergent quaranjavirus in Rhipicephalus ticks from Mozambique
- 2018
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In: Infection Ecology & Epidemiology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 2000-8686. ; 8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Ticks are primary vectors for many well-known disease-causing agents that affect human and animal populations globally such as tick-borne encephalitis, CrimeanCongo hemorrhagic fever and African swine fever. In this study, viral metagenomics was used to identify what viruses are present in Rhipicephalus spp. ticks collected in the Zambezi Valley of Mozambique. Methods: The RNA was amplified with sequence-independent single primer amplification (SISPA) and high-throughput sequencing was performed on the Ion Torrent platform. The generated sequences were subjected to quality check and classfied by BLAST. CodonCode aligner and SeqMan were used to assemble the sequences. Results: The majority of viral sequences showed closest sequence identity to the Orthomyxoviridae family, although viruses similar to the Parvoviridae and Coronaviridae were also identified. Nearly complete sequences of five orthomyxoviral segments (HA, NP, PB1, PB2, and PA) were obtained and these showed an amino acid identity of 32–52% to known quaranjaviruses. The sequences were most closely related to the Wellfleet Bay virus, detected and isolated from common eider during a mortality event in the USA. Conclusions: In summary, this study has identified a highly divergent virus with in the Orthomyxoviridae family associated with Rhipicephalus ticks from Mozambique. Further genetic and biological studies are needed in order to investigate potential pathogenesis of the identified orthomyxovirus.
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- Engel, Philipp, et al.
(author)
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The Bee Microbiome: Impact on Bee Health and Model for Evolution and Ecology of Host-Microbe Interactions
- 2016
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In: mBio. - : American Society for Microbiology. - 2161-2129 .- 2150-7511. ; 7:2
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- As pollinators, bees are cornerstones for terrestrial ecosystem stability and key components in agricultural productivity. All animals, including bees, are associated with a diverse community of microbes, commonly referred to as the micro biome. The bee micro biome is likely to be a crucial factor affecting host health. However, with the exception of a few pathogens, the impacts of most members of the bee microbiome on host health are poorly understood. Further, the evolutionary and ecological forces that shape and change the microbiome are unclear. Here, we discuss recent progress in our understanding of the bee microbiome, and we present challenges associated with its investigation. We conclude that global coordination of research efforts is needed to fully understand the complex and highly dynamic nature of the interplay between the bee micro biome, its host, and the environment. High-throughput sequencing technologies are ideal for exploring complex biological systems, including host-microbe interactions. To maximize their value and to improve assessment of the factors affecting bee health, sequence data should be archived, curated, and analyzed in ways that promote the synthesis of different studies. To this end, the BeeBiome consortium aims to develop an online database which would provide reference sequences, archive metadata, and host analytical resources. The goal would be to support applied and fundamental research on bees and their associated microbes and to provide a collaborative framework for sharing primary data from different research programs, thus furthering our understanding of the bee microbiome and its impact on pollinator health.
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- Gourlé, Hadrien, et al.
(author)
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Simulating Illumina metagenomic data with InSilicoSeq
- 2019
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In: Bioinformatics. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1367-4803 .- 1367-4811. ; 35, s. 521-522
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Motivation: The accurate in silico simulation of metagenomic datasets is of great importance for benchmarking bioinformatics tools as well as for experimental design. Users are dependant on large-scale simulation to not only design experiments and new projects but also for accurate estimation of computational needs within a project. Unfortunately, most current read simulators are either not suited for metagenomics, out of date or relatively poorly documented. In this article, we describe InSilicoSeq, a software package to simulate metagenomic Illumina sequencing data. InsilicoSeq has a simple command-line interface and extensive documentation.Results: InSilicoSeq is implemented in Python and capable of simulating realistic Illumina (meta) genomic data in a parallel fashion with sensible default parameters.
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9. |
- Hayer, Juliette, et al.
(author)
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Four novel picornaviruses detected in Magellanic Penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) in Chile
- 2021
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In: Virology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0042-6822 .- 1178-122X. ; 560, s. 116-123
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Members of the Picornaviridae family comprise a significant burden on the poultry industry, causing diseases such as gastroenteritis and hepatitis. However, with the advent of metagenomics, a number of picornaviruses have now been revealed in apparently healthy wild birds. In this study, we identified four novel viruses belonging to the family Picornaviridae in healthy Magellanic penguins, a near threatened species. All samples were subsequently screened by RT-PCR for these new viruses, and approximately 20% of the penguins were infected with at least one of these viruses. The viruses were distantly related to members of the genera Hepatovirus, Tremovirus, Gruhelivirus and Crahelvirus. Further, they had more than 60% amino acid divergence from other picornaviruses, and therefore likely constitute novel genera. Our results demonstrate the vast undersampling of wild birds for viruses, and we expect the discovery of numerous avian viruses that are related to hepatoviruses and tremoviruses in the future.
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10. |
- Hayer, Juliette, et al.
(author)
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Identification and molecular characterization of highly divergent RNA viruses in cattle, Uganda
- 2022
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In: Virus Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0168-1702 .- 1872-7492. ; 313
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The risk for the emergence of novel viral zoonotic diseases in animals and humans in Uganda is high given its geographical location with high biodiversity. We aimed to identify and characterize viruses in 175 blood samples from cattle selected in Uganda using molecular approaches. We identified 8 viral species belonging to 4 families (Flaviviridae, Peribunyaviridae, Reoviridae and Rhabdoviridae) and 6 genera (Hepacivirus, Pestivirus, Orthobunya-virus, Coltivirus, Dinovernavirus and Ephemerovirus). Four viruses were highly divergent and tetantively named Zikole virus (Family: Flaviviridae), Zeboroti virus (Family: Reoviridae), Zebtine virus (Family: Rhabdoviridae) and Kokolu virus (Family: Rhabdoviridae). In addition, Bovine Hepacivirus, Obodhiang virus, Aedes pseudoscutellaris reovirus and Schmallenberg virus were identified for the first time in Ugandan cattle. We report 8 viral species belonging to 4 viral families including divergent ones in the blood of cattle in Uganda. Hence, cattle may be reservoir hosts for likely emergence of novel viruses with pathogenic potential to cause zoonotic diseases in different species with serious public health implications.
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11. |
- Karlsson Lindsjö, Oskar, et al.
(author)
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MetLab: An In Silico Experimental Design, Simulation and Analysis Tool for Viral Metagenomics Studies
- 2016
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In: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Metagenomics, the sequence characterization of all genomes within a sample, is widely used as a virus discovery tool as well as a tool to study viral diversity of animals. Metagenomics can be considered to have three main steps; sample collection and preparation, sequencing and finally bioinformatics. Bioinformatic analysis of metagenomic datasets is in itself a complex process, involving few standardized methodologies, thereby hampering comparison of metagenomics studies between research groups. In this publication the new bioinformatics framework MetLab is presented, aimed at providing scientists with an integrated tool for experimental design and analysis of viral metagenomes. MetLab provides support in designing the metagenomics experiment by estimating the sequencing depth needed for the complete coverage of a species. This is achieved by applying a methodology to calculate the probability of coverage using an adaptation of Stevens' theorem. It also provides scientists with several pipelines aimed at simplifying the analysis of viral metagenomes, including; quality control, assembly and taxonomic binning. We also implement a tool for simulating metagenomics datasets from several sequencing platforms. The overall aim is to provide virologists with an easy to use tool for designing, simulating and analyzing viral metagenomes. The results presented here include a benchmark towards other existing software, with emphasis on detection of viruses as well as speed of applications. This is packaged, as comprehensive software, readily available for Linux and OSX users at https://github.com/norling/metlab.
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- Karlsson Lindsjö, Oskar, et al.
(author)
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The Intestinal Eukaryotic Virome in Healthy and Diarrhoeic Neonatal Piglets
- 2016
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In: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Neonatal porcine diarrhoea of uncertain aetiology has been reported from a number of European countries. The aim of the present study was to use viral metagenomics to examine a potential viral involvement in this diarrhoea and to describe the intestinal virome with focus on eukaryotic viruses. Samples from the distal jejunum of 50 diarrhoeic and 19 healthy piglets from 10 affected herds were analysed. The viral fraction of the samples was isolated and nucleic acids (RNA and DNA fractions) were subjected to sequence independent amplification. Samples from diarrhoeic piglets from the same herds were pooled whereas samples from healthy piglets were analysed individually. In total, 29 clinical samples, plus two negative controls and one positive control consisting of a mock metagenome were sequenced using the Ion Torrent platform. The resulting sequence data was subjected to taxonomic classification using Kraken, Diamond and HMMER. In the healthy specimens, eight different mammalian virus families were detected (Adenoviridae, Anelloviridae, Astroviridae, Caliciviridae, Circoviridae, Parvoviridae, Picornaviridae, and Reoviridae) compared to four in the pooled diarrhoeic samples (Anelloviridae, Circoviridae, Picornaviridae, and Reoviridae). It was not possible to associate a particular virus family with the investigated diarrhoea. In conclusion, this study does not support the hypothesis that the investigated diarrhoea was caused by known mammalian viruses. The results do, however, indicate that known mammalian viruses were present in the intestine as early as 24-48 hours after birth, indicating immediate infection post-partum or possibly transplacental infection.
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- Malmberg, Maja, et al.
(author)
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Phylogenomic analysis of the complete sequence of a gastroenteritis-associated cetacean adenovirus (bottlenose dolphin adenovirus 1) reveals a high degree of genetic divergence
- 2017
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In: Infection, Genetics and Evolution. - : Elsevier BV. - 1567-1348 .- 1567-7257. ; 53, s. 47-55
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Adenoviruses are common pathogens in vertebrates, infecting a wide range of hosts, but only having rarely been detected and correlated with disease in cetaceans. This article describes the first complete genomic sequence of a cetacean adenovirus, bottlenose dolphin adenovirus 1 (BdAdV-1), detected in captive bottlenose dolphin population ( Tursiops truncatus) suffering from self-limiting gastroenteritis. The complete genome sequence of BdAdV-1 was recovered from data generated by high-throughput sequencing and validated by Sanger sequencing. The genome is 34,080 bp long and has 220 nucleotides long inverted terminal repeats. A total of 29 coding sequences were identified, 26 of which were functionally annotated. Among the unusual features of this genome is a remarkably long 4380 bp E3 ORF1, that displays no sequence homology with the corresponding E3 regions of other adenoviruses. In addition, the fiber protein only has 26% identity with fiber proteins described in other adenoviruses. Three hypothetical proteins were predicted. The phylogenetic analysis indicates that the closest known relative to BdAdV-1 is an adenovirus detected in bottlenose dolphin (KR024710), with an amino acid sequence identity between 36 and 79% depending on the protein. Based on the phylogenic analysis, the BdAdV-1 appears to have co-evolved with its host.The results indicate that BdAdV-1 belongs to the Mastadenovirus genus of the Adenoviridae family, however, it is clearly different from other adenoviruses, especially in the 3'-end of the viral genome. The high degree of sequence divergence suggests that BdAdV-1 should be considered as a novel species in the Mastadenovirus genus. The study also demonstrates the usefulness of high-throughput sequencing to obtain full-length genomes of genetically divergent viruses. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
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19. |
- Ohlund, Pontus, et al.
(author)
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Transcriptome Analysis of an Aedes albopictus Cell Line Single- and Dual-Infected with Lammi Virus and WNV
- 2022
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In: International Journal of Molecular Sciences. - : MDPI AG. - 1661-6596 .- 1422-0067. ; 23:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Understanding the flavivirus infection process in mosquito hosts is important and fundamental in the search for novel control strategies that target the mosquitoes' ability to carry and transmit pathogenic arboviruses. A group of viruses known as insect-specific viruses (ISVs) has been shown to interfere with the infection and replication of a secondary arbovirus infection in mosquitoes and mosquito-derived cell lines. However, the molecular mechanisms behind this interference are unknown. Therefore, in the present study, we infected the Aedes albopictus cell line U4.4 with either the West Nile virus (WNV), the insect-specific Lammi virus (LamV) or an infection scheme whereby cells were pre-infected with LamV 24 h prior to WNV challenge. The qPCR analysis showed that the dual-infected U4.4 cells had a reduced number of WNV RNA copies compared to WNV-only infected cells. The transcriptome profiles of the different infection groups showed a variety of genes with altered expression. WNV-infected cells had an up-regulation of a broad range of immune-related genes, while in LamV-infected cells, many genes related to stress, such as different heat-shock proteins, were up-regulated. The transcriptome profile of the dual-infected cells was a mix of up- and down-regulated genes triggered by both viruses. Furthermore, we observed an up-regulation of signal peptidase complex (SPC) proteins in all infection groups. These SPC proteins have shown importance for flavivirus assembly and secretion and could be potential targets for gene modification in strategies for the interruption of flavivirus transmission by mosquitoes.
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20. |
- Ohlund, Pontus, et al.
(author)
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Viromics Reveal a Number of Novel RNA Viruses in Swedish Mosquitoes
- 2019
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In: Viruses. - : MDPI AG. - 1999-4915. ; 11:11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Metagenomic studies of mosquitoes have revealed that their virome is far more diverse and includes many more viruses than just the pathogenic arboviruses vectored by mosquitoes. In this study, the virome of 953 female mosquitoes collected in the summer of 2017, representing six mosquito species from two geographic locations in Mid-Eastern Sweden, were characterized. In addition, the near-complete genome of nine RNA viruses were characterized and phylogenetically analysed. These viruses showed association to the viral orders Bunyavirales, Picornavirales, Articulavirales, and Tymovirales, and to the realm Ribovira. Hence, through this study, we expand the knowledge of the virome composition of different mosquito species in Sweden. In addition, by providing viral reference genomes from wider geographic regions and different mosquito species, future in silico recognition and assembly of viral genomes in metagenomic datasets will be facilitated.
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- Wille, Michelle, et al.
(author)
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Evolutionary genetics of canine respiratory coronavirus and recent introduction into Swedish dogs
- 2020
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In: Infection, Genetics and Evolution. - : Elsevier BV. - 1567-1348 .- 1567-7257. ; 82
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Canine respiratory coronavirus (CRCoV) has been identified as a causative agent of canine infectious respiratory disease, an upper respiratory infection affecting dogs. The epidemiology is currently opaque, with an unclear understanding of global prevalence, pathology, and genetic characteristics. In this study, Swedish privately-owned dogs with characteristic signs of canine infectious respiratory disease (n = 88) were screened for CRCoV and 13 positive samples (14.7%, 8.4-23.7% [95% confidence interval (CI)]) were further sequenced. Sequenced Swedish CRCoV isolates were highly similar despite being detected in dogs living in geographically distant locations and sampled across 3 years (2013-2015). This is due to a single introduction into Swedish dogs in approximately 2010, as inferred by time structured phylogeny. Unlike other CRCoVs, there was no evidence of recombination in Swedish CRCoV viruses, further supporting a single introduction. Finally, there were low levels of polymorphisms, in the spike genes. Overall, we demonstrate that there is little diversity of CRCoV which is endemic in Swedish dogs.
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22. |
- Öhlund, Pontus, et al.
(author)
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Small RNA Response to Infection of the Insect-Specific Lammi Virus and Hanko Virus in an Aedes albopictus Cell Line
- 2021
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In: Viruses. - : MDPI. - 1999-4915. ; 13:11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated antiviral immunity is believed to be the primary defense against viral infection in mosquitoes. The production of virus-specific small RNA has been demonstrated in mosquitoes and mosquito-derived cell lines for viruses in all of the major arbovirus families. However, many if not all mosquitoes are infected with a group of viruses known as insect-specific viruses (ISVs), and little is known about the mosquito immune response to this group of viruses. Therefore, in this study, we sequenced small RNA from an Aedes albopictus-derived cell line infected with either Lammi virus (LamV) or Hanko virus (HakV). These viruses belong to two distinct phylogenetic groups of insect-specific flaviviruses (ISFVs). The results revealed that both viruses elicited a strong virus-derived small interfering RNA (vsiRNA) response that increased over time and that targeted the whole viral genome, with a few predominant hotspots observed. Furthermore, only the LamV-infected cells produced virus-derived Piwi-like RNAs (vpiRNAs); however, they were mainly derived from the antisense genome and did not show the typical ping-pong signatures. HakV, which is more distantly related to the dual-host flaviviruses than LamV, may lack certain unknown sequence elements or structures required for vpiRNA production. Our findings increase the understanding of mosquito innate immunity and ISFVs' effects on their host.
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