Abstract
Aedes aegypti (L.) is the primary vector of emergent mosquito-borne viruses, including chikungunya, dengue, yellow fever, and Zika viruses. To understand how these viruses interact with their mosquito vectors, an analysis of the innate immune system response was conducted. The innate immune system is a conserved evolutionary defense strategy and is the dominant immune system response found in invertebrates and vertebrates, as well as plants. RNA-sequencing analysis was performed to compare target transcriptomes of two Florida Ae. aegypti strains in response to chikungunya virus infection. We analyzed a strain collected from a field population in Key West, Florida, and a laboratory strain originating from Orlando. A total of 1835 transcripts were significantly expressed at different levels between the two Florida strains of Ae. aegypti. Gene Ontology analysis placed these genes into 12 categories of biological processes, including 856 transcripts (up/down regulated) with more than 1.8-fold (p-adj (p-adjust value) ≤ 0.01). Transcriptomic analysis and q-PCR data indicated that the members of the AaeCECH genes are important for chikungunya infection response in Ae. aegypti. These immune-related enzymes that the chikungunya virus infection induces may inform molecular-based strategies for interruption of arbovirus transmission by mosquitoes.
Highlights
Aedes aegypti (L.) is a major vector of arboviruses including chikungunya, dengue, yellow fever, and Zika
The highest mosquito body titers observed for both strains occurred 5 days post infection (Key West, 5.87 ± 0.39 and Orlando, 4.78 ± 0.39 log10 pfu/mL, Table 1)
Understanding the Aedes vector–chikungunya virus interactions of natural and geographically distinct populations is fundamentally important since it may enable the search for new methods and strategies for interrupting arbovirus transmission
Summary
Aedes aegypti (L.) is a major vector of arboviruses including chikungunya, dengue, yellow fever, and Zika. Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an emerging viral disease in the family Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus, which is transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes, primarily Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. Other Aedes species that have been reported to transmit CHIKV include Ae. vittatus and Ae. koreicus. More than four million cases of human infection involving CHIKV have occurred worldwide over the past 12 years, making mosquito control and interruption of CHIKV transmission a priority [7]. Common symptoms associated with human infection include: fever, headache, muscle pain, rash, and induced joint damage [8,9], with the possibility of chronic musculoskeletal diseases [10] and chronic arthritis [11]. There is no vaccine currently available for the prevention of CHIKV and so controlling the mosquito vectors is considered the primary method for reducing the risk of transmission
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