Abstract
Aedes aegypti (L.) is the primary vector of many emerging arboviruses. Insecticide resistance among mosquito populations is a consequence of the application of insecticides for mosquito control. We used RNA-sequencing to compare transcriptomes between permethrin resistant and susceptible strains of Florida Ae. aegypti in response to Zika virus infection. A total of 2459 transcripts were expressed at significantly different levels between resistant and susceptible Ae. aegypti. Gene ontology analysis placed these genes into seven categories of biological processes. The 863 transcripts were expressed at significantly different levels between the two mosquito strains (up/down regulated) more than 2-fold. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis was used to validate the Zika-infection response. Our results suggested a highly overexpressed P450, with AAEL014617 and AAEL006798 as potential candidates for the molecular mechanism of permethrin resistance in Ae. aegypti. Our findings indicated that most detoxification enzymes and immune system enzymes altered their gene expression between the two strains of Ae. aegypti in response to Zika virus infection. Understanding the interactions of arboviruses with resistant mosquito vectors at the molecular level allows for the possible development of new approaches in mitigating arbovirus transmission. This information sheds light on Zika-induced changes in insecticide resistant Ae. aegypti with implications for mosquito control strategies.
Highlights
Aedes aegypti (L.) is the primary vector of emergent mosquito-borne viruses, including yellow fever, dengue, chikungunya, and Zika [1,2]
To understand the molecular interactions of the arbovirus with permethrin resistant Ae. aegypti from Florida, RNA-seq was conducted to explore the global changes in the Ae. aegypti (Key West and Orlando strains) transcriptome in response to oral ingestion of Zika virus (ZIKV) infected blood and ZIKV
By 10 dpi, ZIKV titer in permethrin resistant strain mosquito bodies were 6.5 ± 0.05 log10 pfu/mL, which was 100-fold higher (t4 = 8.12, p = 0.001) than the titer of the susceptible strain (4.5 ± 0.34 log10 pfu/mL). This result demonstrated that the ZIKV replication rates were higher at this point in the infection process for the permethrin resistant strain than the susceptible strain
Summary
Aedes aegypti (L.) is the primary vector of emergent mosquito-borne viruses, including yellow fever, dengue, chikungunya, and Zika [1,2]. Zika fever is an emerging viral disease (family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus) that is transmitted to humans by infected female mosquitoes, primarily Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. Zika virus (ZIKV) consists of three lineages, one from Asia and two from Africa [3]. Zika was detected in northeastern Brazil in early 2015 resulting in 1.5 million human cases [5,6]. Since the arrival of Zika in Brazil, the mosquito-borne pathogen has spread throughout the Americas and local transmission in the U.S is a major public health risk among parts of the Gulf Coast.
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