The discovery and global distribution of novel mosquito‐associated viruses in the last decade (2007‐2017)

Abstract

Summary In the last decade, virus hunting and discovery has gained pace. This achievement has been driven by three major factors: (a) advancements in sequencing technologies, (b) scaled‐up routine arbovirus surveillance strategies, and (c) the “hunt” for emerging pathogens and novel viruses. Many novel viruses have been discovered from a myriad of hosts, vectors, and environmental samples. To help promote understanding of the global diversity and distribution of mosquito‐associated viruses and facilitate future studies, we review mosquito‐associated viruses discovered between years 2007 and 2017, across the world. In the analyzed period, novel mosquito‐associated viruses belonging to 25 families and a general group of unclassified viruses were categorized. The top three discovered novel mosquito‐associated viruses belonged to families Flaviviridae (n=32), Rhabdoviridae (n=16), and Peribunyaviridae (n=14). Also, 67 unclassified viruses were reported. Majority of these novel viruses were identified from Culex spp, Anopheles spp, Aedes spp, and Mansonia spp mosquitoes, respectively. Notably, the number of these discovered novels is not representative of intercontinental virus diversity but rather is influenced by the number of studies done in the study period. Some of these newly discovered mosquito‐associated viruses have medical significance, either directly or indirectly. For instance, in the study period, 14 novel mosquito‐borne viruses that infect mammalian cells in vitro were reported. These viruses pose a danger to the global health security on emerging viral diseases. On the other hand, some of the newly discovered insect specific viruses described herein have potential application as future biocontrol and vaccine agents against known pathogenic arboviruses. Overall, this review outlines the crucial role played by mosquitoes as viral vectors in the global virosphere.

Mosquito-Specific Viruses—Transmission and Interaction

“…Notably, there are viruses that are presumed to be MSVs although there is still a lack of experimental data involving their ability to infect mammals. In recent years, there has been an increase in discoveries of MSVs [2,3]. Interestingly, many of these viruses taxonomically cluster very close to arthropod-borne (arbo) viruses, of which many are of public health concern [2].…”

Differential Small RNA Responses against Co-Infecting Insect-Specific Viruses in Aedes albopictus Mosquitoes

“…Aedes and Culex are two major genera of mosquitoes that transmit medically important arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) such as dengue, West Nile and Zika viruses. Recent metagenomics studies have shed light on the virome of these mosquito vectors, revealing diverse virus communities largely composed of insect-specific viruses (ISVs) that specifically infect invertebrates but not vertebrates [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. ISVs have been shown to negatively regulate some arbovirus infections in mosquito cell cultures and in vivo [8][9][10][11][12][13][14].…”

Viromics on Honey-Baited FTA Cards as a New Tool for the Detection of Circulating Viruses in Mosquitoes

“…Recently, by high throughput sequencing, diverse and widely distributed novel non-taxonomic groups of RNA viruses that naturally infect insects have been discovered in mosquitoes. Between 2007 and 2017, 187 novel mosquito-associated viruses have been reported and classified within 25 families [24]; some of them commonly grouped with human/animal arboviral pathogens or plant viruses. The capacity to detect untargeted viruses enables metagenomics to act as a new and powerful approach to enhancing arbovirus surveillance programs [25].…”