arbovirus
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceInsights into the Evolutionary Origin of Mediterranean Sandfly Fever VirusesStudies on the genetic diversity of arthropod-borne viruses circulating in rural regions can provide critical early indications on new emerging viruses essential for global epidemic preparedness. In this study, we describe the discovery of four phleboviruses in sandflies from the Kenyan Rift Valley. The novel viruses are related to the two medically important serocomplexes, sandfly fever Naples and sandfly fever Sicilian, that are...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceUnder-the-Radar Dengue Virus Infections in Natural Populations of Aedes aegypti MosquitoesSince 1999, dengue outbreaks in the continental United States involving local transmission have occurred only episodically and only in Florida and Texas. In Florida, these episodes appear to be coincident with increased introductions of dengue virus into the region through human travel and migration from countries where the disease is endemic. To date, the U.S. public health response to dengue outbreaks has been largely reactive, and...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyThe Aedes aegypti Domino Ortholog p400 Regulates Antiviral Exogenous Small Interfering RNA Pathway Activity and ago-2 ExpressionFemale Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are vectors of human-infecting arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses). In recent decades, the incidence of arthropod-borne viral infections has grown dramatically. Vector competence is influenced by many factors, including the mosquito’s antiviral defenses. The exogenous small interfering RNA (siRNA) pathway is a major antiviral response...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyAedes aegypti Piwi4 Is a Noncanonical PIWI Protein Involved in Antiviral ResponsesMosquitoes transmit several pathogenic viruses, for example, the chikungunya and Zika viruses. In mosquito cells, virus replication intermediates in the form of double-stranded RNA are cleaved by Dcr2 into 21-nucleotide-long siRNAs, which in turn are used by Ago2 to target the virus genome. A different class of virus-derived small RNAs, PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), have also been found in infected insect cells. These piRNAs are...