Cytoarchitecture of ex vivo midgut cultures of unfed Ixodes scapularis infected with a tick-borne flavivirus

Ochwoto, Missiani; Offerdahl, Danielle K.; Leung, Jacqueline M.; Schwartz, Cindi L.; Long, Dan; Rosenke, Rebecca; Stewart, Philip E.; Saturday, Greg A.; Bloom, Marshall E.

doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2023.102301

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 27 publications

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“…Interestingly, we saw differences in virus infection rate and virus level in replete larvae immediately after feeding on a viremic mouse. While this might have been due to differences in host viremia, which we were unable to measure, it could also indicate differences in the ability of viral isolates to establish infection and begin replicating within the larval midgut, the first site of infection for many pathogens [ 33 , 34 , 35 ]. Additionally, it is known that tick age and density can impact feeding success and therefore virus acquisition [ 36 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strain-Dependent Assessment of Powassan Virus Transmission to Ixodes scapularis Ticks

McMinn,

Gallichotte,

Courtney

et al. 2024

Viruses

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Powassan virus (POWV) is an emerging tick-borne encephalitic virus in Lyme disease-endemic sites in North America. Due to range expansion and local intensification of blacklegged tick vector (Ixodes scapularis) populations in the northeastern and upper midwestern U.S., human encephalitis cases are increasingly being reported. A better understanding of the transmission cycle between POWV and ticks is required in order to better predict and understand their public health burden. Recent phylogeographic analyses of POWV have identified geographical structuring, with well-defined northeastern and midwestern clades of the lineage II subtype. The extent that geographic and genetically defined sublineages differ in their ability to infect and be transmitted by blacklegged ticks is unclear. Accordingly, we determined whether there are strain-dependent differences in the transmission of POWV to ticks at multiple life stages. Five recent, low-passage POWV isolates were used to measure aspects of vector competence, using viremic and artificial infection methods. Infection rates in experimental ticks remained consistent between all five isolates tested, resulting in a 12–20% infection rate and some differences in viral load. We confirm that these differences are likely not due to differences in host viremia. Our results demonstrate that blacklegged ticks are susceptible to, and capable of transmitting, all tested strains and suggest that the tick–virus association is stable across diverse viral genotypes.

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