Virome studies among metazoans have revealed the ubiquity of RNA viruses in animals, contributing to a fundamental rethinking of the relationships between organisms and their microbiota. Mosquito viromes, often scrutinized due to their public health relevance, may also provide insight into broadly applicable concepts, such as a "core virome," a set of viruses consistently associated with a host species or population that may fundamentally impact its basic biology. A subset of mosquito-associated viruses (MAVs) could comprise such a core, and MAVs can be categorized as (i) arboviruses, which alternate between mosquito and vertebrate hosts, (ii) insect-specific viruses, which cannot replicate in vertebrate cells, and (iii) viruses with unknown specificity. MAVs have been widely characterized in the disease vector Aedes aegypti, and the occurrence of a core virome in this species has been proposed but remains un-
Aedes aegypti is the predominant vector of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses. This mosquito is difficult to control with conventional methods due to its container-inhabiting behavior and resistance to insecticides. Autodissemination of pyriproxyfen (PPF), a potent larvicide, has shown promise as an additional tool to control Aedes species in small-scale field trials. However, few large-scale field evaluations have been conducted. We undertook a 6-month-long large-scale field study to compare the effectiveness and operational feasibility of using In2Care Mosquito Traps (In2Care Traps, commercially available Aedes traps with PPF and Beauveria bassiana) compared to an integrated vector management (IVM) strategy consisting of source reduction, larviciding, and adulticiding for controlling Ae. aegypti eggs, larvae, and adults. We found that while the difference between treatments was only statistically significant for eggs and larvae (P < 0.05 for eggs and larvae and P > 0.05 for adults), the use of In2Care Traps alone resulted in 60%, 57%, and 57% fewer eggs, larvae, and adults, respectively, collected from that site compared to the IVM site. However, In2Care Trap deployment and maintenance were more time consuming and labor intensive than the IVM strategy. Thus, using In2Care Traps alone as a control method for large areas (e.g., >20 ha) may be less practical for control programs with the capacity to conduct ground and aerial larviciding and adulticiding. Based on our study results, we conclude that In2Care Traps are effective at suppressing Ae. aegypti and have the most potential for use in areas without sophisticated control programs and within IVM programs to target hotspots with high population levels and/or risk of Aedes-borne pathogen transmission.
Since 2009, local outbreaks of dengue (serotypes 1-3) mediated by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes have occurred in the United States, particularly in Florida (FL). In 2016 and 2017, dengue virus serotype 4 was found alongside several insect-specific viruses (ISVs) in pools of Ae. aegypti from Manatee County, FL, in the absence of an index case. Although ISVs have been characterized in Ae. aegypti globally, the constitution of a core virome in natural populations remains unclear. Using mosquitoes sampled from Manatee County in 2018, we compared baseline ovary viromes of field (G0) and lab (Orlando) Ae. aegypti via metagenomic RNA sequencing. Across all samples, virome composition varied by sample type (field- or colony-derived). Four ISVs comprised >97% of virus sequences: a novel partiti-like virus (Partitiviridae), a previously described toti-like virus (Totiviridae), unclassified Riboviria, and four previously described orthomyxo-like viruses (Orthormyxoviridae). Whole or partial genomes for the toti-like virus, partiti-like virus, and one orthomyxo-like virus were assembled and analyzed phylogenetically. Multigenerational maintenance of these ISVs was confirmed orthogonally by RT-PCR in G0 and G7 mosquitoes, indicating vertical transmission as the mechanism for ISV sustentation. This study provides fundamental information regarding ISV ecology, persistence, and variation in Ae. aegypti in nature.
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