Novel viruses in salivary glands of mosquitoes from sylvatic Cerrado, Midwestern Brazil

Pinto, Andressa Zelenski de Lara; Carvalho, Michellen Santos de; Melo, Fernando Lucas; Ribeiro, Ana Lúcia Maria; Ribeiro, Bergmann Morais; Slhessarenko, Renata Dezengrini

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0187429

Cited by 38 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 51 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Scaphoideus titanus-associated partiti-like virus 1 clustered with two viruses identified in nematodes and formed a distinct clade only distantly related to Deltapartitivirus, the phylogenetically closest genus among those officially recognized by the ICTV. This result was consistent with phylogenetic analyses presented in previous works [41,42], especially in the manuscript by Shi et al [28], which remarked that in the Partitiviridae family it is possible to resolve well-supported clades that appear to be specific to invertebrate hosts. Despite that, conclusive evidence that a partiti-like virus could infect insects has never been reported in literature, so we preferred the indication "associated virus".…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

New Viral Sequences Identified in the Flavescence Dorée Phytoplasma Vector Scaphoideus titanus

Ottati

Chiapello

Galetto

et al. 2020

Viruses

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

(1) Background: The leafhopper Scaphoideus titanus is the primary vector of Flavescence dorée phytoplasma (FDp) in European vineyards. Flavescence dorée is one of the most severely damaging diseases of Vitis vinifera and, consequently, a major threat to grape and wine production in several European countries. Control measures are compulsory, but they mainly involve large-scale insecticide treatments, with detrimental impacts on the environment. One possible solution is to exploit the largely unexplored genetic diversity of viruses infecting S. titanus as highly specific and environmentally benign tools for biological control. (2) Methods: A metatranscriptomic approach was adopted to identify viruses that may infect individuals caught in the wild in both its native (United States) and invasive (Europe) areas. Reverse transcription PCR was used to confirm their presence in RNA pools and explore their prevalence. (3) Results: We described nine new RNA viruses, including members of “Picorna-Calici”, “Permutotetra”, “Bunya-Arena”, “Reo”, “Partiti-Picobirna”, “Luteo-Sobemo” and “Toti-Chryso” clades. A marked difference in the diversity and abundance of the viral species was observed between the USA population and the European ones. (4) Conclusions: This work represents the first survey to assess the viral community of a phytoplasma insect vector. The possibility to exploit these naturally occurring viruses as specific and targeted biocontrol agents of S. titanus could be the answer to increasing demand for a more sustainable viticulture.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

New Viral Sequences Identified in the Flavescence Dorée Phytoplasma Vector Scaphoideus titanus

Ottati

Chiapello

Galetto

et al. 2020

Viruses

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Four main findings can be reported regarding EVE clades: (i) the presence of various high-identical EVE copies, indicated by clades containing several sequences with near-zero branch lengths ( Figures 5B,D); (ii) the presence of glycoproteins inside BEL-Pao retroelements from RepBase intervening into various EVE clades ( Figure 5C); (iii) the presence of several sologlycoproteins embedded into retroelements clades ( Figure 5B), and (iv) the presence of sequences described as bona fide chuviruses (Lara Pinto et al, 2017;Pauvolid-Corrêa et al, 2016) inside and outside of clades mostly composed of EVE copies ( Figure 5D).…”

Section: Evidence Of a Chuvirus Env-like Protein Captured By Elementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

In and Outs of Chuviridae Endogenous Viral Elements: Origin of a Potentially New Retrovirus and Signature of Ancient and Ongoing Arms Race in Mosquito Genomes

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Endogenous viral elements (EVEs) are sequences of viral origin integrated into the host genome. EVEs have been characterized in various insect genomes, including mosquitoes. A large EVE content has been found in Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus genomes among which a recently described Chuviridae viral family is of particular interest, owing to the abundance of EVEs derived from it, the discrepancy among the chuvirus endogenized gene regions and the frequent association with retrotransposons from the BEL-Pao superfamily. In order to better understand the endogenization process of chuviruses and the association between chuvirus glycoproteins and BEL-Pao retrotransposons, we performed a comparative genomics and evolutionary analysis of chuvirus-derived EVEs found in 37 mosquito genomes. Results: We identified 428 EVEs belonging to the Chuviridae family confirming the wide discrepancy among the chuvirus genomic regions endogenized: 409 glycoproteins, 18 RNA-dependent RNA polymerases and one nucleoprotein region. Most of the glycoproteins (263 out of 409) are associated specifically with retroelements from the Pao family. Focusing only on well-assembled Pao retroelement copies, we estimated that 263 out of 379 Pao elements are associated with chuvirus-derived glycoproteins. Seventy-three potentially active Pao copies were found to contain glycoproteins into their LTR boundaries. Thirteen out of these were classified as complete and likely autonomous copies, with a full LTR structure and protein domains. We also found 116 Pao copies with no trace of glycoproteins and 37 solo glycoproteins. All potential autonomous Pao copies, contained highly similar LTRs, suggesting a recent/current activity of these elements in the mosquito genomes. Conclusion: Evolutionary analysis revealed that most of the glycoproteins found are likely derived from a single or few glycoprotein endogenization events associated with a recombination event with a Pao ancestral element. A potential functional Pao-chuvirus hybrid (named Anakin) emerged and the glycoprotein was further replicated through

show abstract

“…Insects were separated based on the ovitrap location and species. The number of mosquitos in each pool processed was based on previous literature reports [27–30] as well as the efficiency of RNA extraction kit; as a result, we used mosquito pools raging from 3 to 33 insects. The processing of mosquito pools requires a sensitive molecular method, since the minimum infection rate in females mosquitoes ranges from 0.1 to 3.9 per 1000 [31].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural infection and vertical transmission of two flaviviruses (Yellow fever and Zika) in mosquitoes in primary forests in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro (Diptera: Culicidae)

Alencar

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

27 Background: Zika virus (ZIKV) was recently introduced in the American continent, 28 probably transmitted by Aedes aegypti and possibly by Ae. albopictus and Culex 29 quinquefasciatus in urban environments. ZIKV represents a known public health 30 problem as it has been involved in newborn cases of congenital microcephaly in South 31 America since 2005. The transmission of this virus in forested areas of other countries 32 and its relative ubiquity in relation to its vectors and reservoirs raises suspicions of its 33 adaptation to non-human modified environments (i.e., natural forests reserve) or on this 34 continent, similar to those seen for Yellow fever virus (YFV). The objective of this 35 work was to have an epidemiological monitoring tool mapping insects as well as 36 circulating arboviruses in wild areas with low human interference. This study was based 37 on the history of the insect flavivirus spreading cycle. Methods/Principal Findings: 38 Using a previously described sensitive PCR-based assay to assess the conserved NS5 39 region of the Flavivirus genus, both YFV partial genome and ZIKV were found in pools 40 of Aedes albopictus, a sylvatic mosquito adapted to human-modified environments, and 41 in Haemagogus leucocelaenus, a sylvatic mosquito. Conclusions: This is the first report 42 of natural infection by ZIKV in mosquitoes in a sylvatic environment on the American 43 continent. The wide distribution of these mosquitoes is probably important in the 44 transmission of ZIKV. Vertical transmission indicates a higher efficiency for the 45 maintenance and transmission of the virus in nature as well as the presence of the ZIKV 46 in permanent character in the forest areas as it occurs with the YFV thus making more 47 difficult the prevention of new cases of Zika in humans.48 49 50 3 51 Author Summary 52 Arboviruses are diseases transmitted by arthropod vectors, hence the origin of the term 53 ARthropod BOrne VIRUS, which is adopted since 1942. This work had as objective to 54 survey the circulating insects as well as to detect the presence of viruses in them. 55 Arboviruses circulate between insects and vertebrate hosts, having importance for 56 promoting diseases in humans and animals. The diseases most known at the time, due to 57 the recent cases reported by South America, are Dengue, Zika, Yellow Fever and 58 Chikungunya. For this study, we used appropriate traps to collect the insects and their 59 eggs in wild areas where there is little human interference. After collection, mosquitoes 60 and / or eggs were identified and separated as to the source and species. The eggs were 61 kept in laboratory conditions for the hatching of new insects. All the insects obtained 62 were separated into pools to be macerated and thus extract the RNA from the viruses to 63 be studied. Using molecular biology techniques, in our case the RT-PCR (Reverse 64 Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction), we amplified the RNA and in sequentially, 65 we performed the sequencing reaction. With sequencing, it is possible to iden...

show abstract

Novel viruses in salivary glands of mosquitoes from sylvatic Cerrado, Midwestern Brazil

Cited by 38 publications

References 51 publications

New Viral Sequences Identified in the Flavescence Dorée Phytoplasma Vector Scaphoideus titanus

New Viral Sequences Identified in the Flavescence Dorée Phytoplasma Vector Scaphoideus titanus

In and Outs of Chuviridae Endogenous Viral Elements: Origin of a Potentially New Retrovirus and Signature of Ancient and Ongoing Arms Race in Mosquito Genomes

Natural infection and vertical transmission of two flaviviruses (Yellow fever and Zika) in mosquitoes in primary forests in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro (Diptera: Culicidae)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About