| isolation and characterization of a new mosquito flavivirus, quang binh virus, from vietnam. | in recent years, a number of flaviviruses that replicate only in an arthropod host have been discovered and characterized. we describe here the isolation and characterization of a new mosquito-only flavivirus in this group. the virus was isolated from culex tritaeniorhyncus mosquitoes collected in vietnam in 2002 and was found to be genetically different from mosquito flaviviruses described previously. we propose the isolate be named quang binh virus. | 2009 | 19347244 |
| evidence for ribosomal frameshifting and a novel overlapping gene in the genomes of insect-specific flaviviruses. | flaviviruses have a positive-sense, single-stranded rna genome of approximately 11 kb, encoding a large polyprotein that is cleaved to produce approximately 10 mature proteins. cell fusing agent virus, kamiti river virus, culex flavivirus and several recently discovered flaviviruses have no known vertebrate host and apparently infect only insects. we present compelling bioinformatic evidence for a 253-295 codon overlapping gene (designated fifo) conserved throughout these insect-specific flavivi ... | 2010 | 20097399 |
| isolation and sequence analysis of culex flavivirus from culex interrogator and culex quinquefasciatus in the yucatan peninsula of mexico. | previously, we reported a high prevalence of culex flavivirus (cxfv) in culex quinquefasciatus (say) in the yucatan peninsula of mexico. to determine whether other culex spp. mosquitoes in this region are susceptible to natural cxfv infection, cx. bahamensis (dyar and knab), cx. coronator (dyar and knab), cx. interrogator (dyar and knab), cx. nigripalpus (theobald) and cx. opisthopus (komp) in the yucatan peninsula of mexico were tested for cxfv. two pools of cx. interrogator were positive. the ... | 2010 | 20379749 |
| transmission of west nile virus by culex quinquefasciatus say infected with culex flavivirus izabal. | the natural history and potential impact of mosquito-specific flaviviruses on the transmission efficiency of west nile virus (wnv) is unknown. the objective of this study was to determine whether or not prior infection with culex flavivirus (cxfv) izabal altered the vector competence of cx. quinquefasciatus say for transmission of a co-circulating strain of west nile virus (wnv) from guatemala. | 2010 | 20454569 |
| structural and functional analyses of a conserved hydrophobic pocket of flavivirus methyltransferase. | the flavivirus methyltransferase (mtase) sequentially methylates the n7 and 2'-o positions of the viral rna cap (gpppa-rna → m(7)gpppa-rna → m(7)gpppam-rna), using s-adenosyl-l-methionine (adomet) as a methyl donor. we report here that sinefungin (sin), an adomet analog, inhibits several flaviviruses through suppression of viral mtase. the crystal structure of west nile virus mtase in complex with sin inhibitor at 2.0-å resolution revealed a flavivirus-conserved hydrophobic pocket located next t ... | 2010 | 20685660 |
| distribution and phylogenetic comparisons of a novel mosquito flavivirus sequence present in culex tarsalis mosquitoes from western canada with viruses isolated in california and colorado. | in a previous study, a new flavivirus genome sequence was identified in culex tarsalis mosquitoes obtained in alberta, canada and was shown to be genetically related to but distinct from members of the insect-specific flaviviruses. nonstructural protein 5-encoding sequences amplified from cx. tarsalis pools from western canada have shown a high similarity to genome sequences of novel flaviviruses isolated from mosquitoes in california and colorado. despite wide distribution of this virus, design ... | 2011 | 21734143 |
| insect-specific flaviviruses from culex mosquitoes in colorado, with evidence of vertical transmission. | mosquitoes were collected in colorado during 2006 and 2007 to examine spatial and seasonal patterns of risk for exposure to culex vectors and west nile virus. we used universal flavivirus primers to test pools of culex mosquitoes for viral rna. this led to the detection and subsequent isolation of two insect-specific flaviviruses: culex flavivirus (cxfv), which was first described from japan, and a novel insect flavivirus, designated calbertado virus (clbov), which has also been detected in cali ... | 2011 | 21734144 |
| novel flaviviruses detected in different species of mosquitoes in spain. | abstract we report the characterization of three novel flaviviruses isolated in spain. marisma mosquito virus, a novel mosquito borne virus, was isolated from ochlerotatus caspius mosquitoes; spanish ochlerotatus flavivirus and spanish culex flavivirus, two novel insect flaviviruses, were isolated from oc. caspius and culex pipiens, respectively. during this investigation, we designed a sensitive rt-nested polymerase chain reaction method that amplifies a 1019bp fragment of the flavivirus ns5 ... | 2011 | 22022811 |
| Molecular evolution of the insect-specific flaviviruses. | There has been an explosion in the discovery of 'insect-specific' flaviviruses and/or their related sequences in natural mosquito populations. Herein we review all 'insect-specific' flaviviral sequences currently available and conduct phylogenetic analyses of both the 'insect-specific' flaviviruses and available sequences of the entire genus Flavivirus. We show that there is no statistical support for virus-mosquito co-divergence, suggesting that the 'insect-specific' flaviviruses may have under ... | 2011 | 22012464 |
| insect-specific virus discovery: significance for the arbovirus community. | arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses), especially those transmitted by mosquitoes, are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in humans and animals worldwide. recent discoveries indicate that mosquitoes are naturally infected with a wide range of other viruses, many within taxa occupied by arboviruses that are considered insect-specific. over the past ten years there has been a dramatic increase in the literature describing novel insect-specific virus detection in mosquitoes, which has p ... | 2015 | 26378568 |
| insect-specific flaviviruses: a systematic review of their discovery, host range, mode of transmission, superinfection exclusion potential and genomic organization. | there has been a dramatic increase in the number of insect-specific flaviviruses (isfs) discovered in the last decade. historically, these viruses have generated limited interest due to their inability to infect vertebrate cells. this viewpoint has changed in recent years because some isfs have been shown to enhance or suppress the replication of medically important flaviviruses in co-infected mosquito cells. additionally, comparative studies between isfs and medically important flaviviruses can ... | 2015 | 25866904 |
| mosquito cell lines: history, isolation, availability and application to assess the threat of arboviral transmission in the united kingdom. | mosquitoes are highly effective vectors for transmission of human and animal pathogens. understanding the relationship between pathogen and vector is vital in developing strategies to predict and prevent transmission. cell lines derived from appropriate mosquito hosts provide a relatively simple tool for investigating the interaction between the host and viruses transmitted by mosquitoes. this review provides a brief overview of the development of mosquito cell lines, methods of isolation, their ... | 2014 | 25141888 |
| multi-gene detection and identification of mosquito-borne rna viruses using an oligonucleotide microarray. | arthropod-borne viruses are important emerging pathogens world-wide. viruses transmitted by mosquitoes, such as dengue, yellow fever, and japanese encephalitis viruses, infect hundreds of millions of people and animals each year. global surveillance of these viruses in mosquito vectors using molecular based assays is critical for prevention and control of the associated diseases. here, we report an oligonucleotide dna microarray design, termed arbochip5.1, for multi-gene detection and identifica ... | 2013 | 23967358 |
| a new insect-specific flavivirus from northern australia suppresses replication of west nile virus and murray valley encephalitis virus in co-infected mosquito cells. | recent reports of a novel group of flaviviruses that replicate only in mosquitoes and appear to spread through insect populations via vertical transmission have emerged from around the globe. to date, there is no information on the presence or prevalence of these insect-specific flaviviruses (isfs) in australian mosquito species. to assess whether such viruses occur locally, we used reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rt-pcr) and flavivirus universal primers that are specific to the ... | 2013 | 23460804 |
| mosquito-borne arbovirus surveillance at selected sites in diverse ecological zones of kenya; 2007 - 2012. | increased frequency of arbovirus outbreaks in east africa necessitated the determination of distribution of risk by entomologic arbovirus surveillance. a systematic vector surveillance programme spanning 5 years and covering 11 sites representing seven of the eight provinces in kenya and located in diverse ecological zones was carried out. | 2013 | 23663381 |
| replication of west nile virus, rabensburg lineage in mammalian cells is restricted by temperature. | the genus flavivirus currently consists of approximately 80 single-strand positive-sense rna viruses. these replicate in a range of hosts including myriad vertebrate, insect, and tick species. as a consequence of this broad host range, the majority of flaviviruses can be propagated in most vertebrate and insect cell cultures. this ability to infect arthropods and vertebrates usually is essential for maintenance of these viruses in nature. but recently, there has been the discovery of a number of ... | 2012 | 23241081 |
| transmission dynamics of an insect-specific flavivirus in a naturally infected culex pipiens laboratory colony and effects of co-infection on vector competence for west nile virus. | we established a laboratory colony of culex pipiens mosquitoes from eggs collected in colorado and discovered that mosquitoes in the colony are naturally infected with culex flavivirus (cxfv), an insect-specific flavivirus. in this study we examined transmission dynamics of cxfv and effects of persistent cxfv infection on vector competence for west nile virus (wnv). we found that vertical transmission is the primary mechanism for persistence of cxfv in cx. pipiens, with venereal transmission pot ... | 2012 | 22425062 |
| viral interference and persistence in mosquito-borne flaviviruses. | mosquito-borne flaviviruses are important pathogens for humans, and the detection of two or more flaviviruses cocirculating in the same geographic area has often been reported. however, the epidemiological impact remains to be determined. mosquito-borne flaviviruses are primarily transmitted through aedes and culex mosquitoes; these viruses establish a life-long or persistent infection without apparent pathological effects. this establishment requires a balance between virus replication and the ... | 2015 | 26583158 |
| novel virus discovery and genome reconstruction from field rna samples reveals highly divergent viruses in dipteran hosts. | we investigated whether small rna (srna) sequenced from field-collected mosquitoes and chironomids (diptera) can be used as a proxy signature of viral prevalence within a range of species and viral groups, using srnas sequenced from wild-caught specimens, to inform total rna deep sequencing of samples of particular interest. using this strategy, we sequenced from adult anopheles maculipennis s.l. mosquitoes the apparently nearly complete genome of one previously undescribed virus related to chro ... | 2013 | 24260463 |
| mercadeo virus: a novel mosquito-specific flavivirus from panama. | viruses in the genus flavivirus (family flaviviridae) include many arthropod-borne viruses of public health and veterinary importance. however, during the past two decades an explosion of novel insect-specific flaviviruses (isfs), some closely related to vertebrate pathogens, have been discovered. although many flavivirus pathogens of vertebrates have been isolated from naturally infected mosquitoes in panama, isfs have not previously been reported from the country. this report describes the iso ... | 2015 | 26304915 |
| characterization of a novel insect-specific flavivirus from brazil: potential for inhibition of infection of arthropod cells with medically important flaviviruses. | in the past decade, there has been an upsurge in the number of newly described insect-specific flaviviruses isolated pan-globally. we recently described the isolation of a novel flavivirus (tentatively designated 'nhumirim virus'; nhuv) that represents an example of a unique subset of apparently insect-specific viruses that phylogenetically affiliate with dual-host mosquito-borne flaviviruses despite appearing to be limited to replication in mosquito cells. we characterized the in vitro growth p ... | 2014 | 25146007 |
| rapid evolutionary dynamics of structural disorder as a potential driving force for biological divergence in flaviviruses. | protein structure is commonly regarded to be conserved and to dictate function. most proteins rely on conformational flexibility to some degree. are regions that convey conformational flexibility conserved over evolutionary time? can changes in conformational flexibility alter protein function? here, the evolutionary dynamics of structurally ordered and disordered (flexible) regions are investigated genome-wide in flaviviruses, revealing that the amount and location of structural disorder fluctu ... | 0 | 23418179 |
| novel insect-specific flavivirus isolated from northern europe. | mosquitoes collected in finland were screened for flaviviral rna leading to the discovery and isolation of a novel flavivirus designated hanko virus (hankv). virus characterization, including phylogenetic analysis of the complete coding sequence, confirmed hankv as a member of the "insect-specific" flavivirus (isf) group. hankv is the first member of this group isolated from northern europe, and therefore the first northern european isf for which the complete coding sequence has been determined. ... | 2012 | 22999256 |
| discovery of novel viruses in mosquitoes from the zambezi valley of mozambique. | mosquitoes carry a wide variety of viruses that can cause vector-borne infectious diseases and affect both human and veterinary public health. although mozambique can be considered a hot spot for emerging infectious diseases due to factors such as a rich vector population and a close vector/human/wildlife interface, the viral flora in mosquitoes have not previously been investigated. in this study, viral metagenomics was employed to analyze the viral communities in culex and mansonia mosquitoes ... | 2016 | 27682810 |
| genetic characterization of an insect-specific flavivirus isolated from culex theileri mosquitoes collected in southern portugal. | we describe the full genetic characterization of an insect-specific flavivirus (isf) from culex theileri (theobald) mosquitoes collected in portugal. this represents the first isolation and full characterization of an isf from portuguese mosquitoes. the virus, designated ctfv, for culex theileri flavivirus, was isolated in the c6/36 stegomyia albopicta (=aedes albopictus) cell line, and failed to replicate in vertebrate (vero) cells in common with other isfs. the ctfv genome encodes a single pol ... | 2012 | 22579596 |
| detection of quang binh virus from mosquitoes in china. | flaviviruses present a wide range of genetic diversity and exhibit diverse host relationships. mosquito-borne flaviviruses have recently been isolated and characterized worldwide. yunnan province of china is one of the richest areas of species diversity and is the center of multi-species evolution in mainland asia, which supports the circulation of numerous arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses). in a screening program of arboviruses, mosquitoes were collected during the mosquito activity season ... | 2014 | 24342141 |
| insect-specific flaviviruses, a worldwide widespread group of viruses only detected in insects. | several flaviviruses are important pathogens for humans and animals (dengue viruses, japanese encephalitis virus, yellow-fever virus, tick-borne encephalitis virus, west nile virus). in recent years, numerous novel and related flaviviruses without known pathogenic capacity have been isolated worldwide in the natural mosquito population. however, phylogenetic studies have shown that genomic sequences of these viruses diverge from other flaviviruses. moreover, these viruses seem to be exclusive of ... | 2016 | 26235844 |
| isolation of japanese encephalitis virus and a novel insect-specific flavivirus from mosquitoes collected in a cowshed in japan. | cattle do not generally appear to develop severe viremia when infected with japanese encephalitis virus (jev), and they can be infected without showing clinical signs. however, two cattle in japan recently died from jev infection. in this study, we investigated the presence of different species of mosquitoes and flavivirus in a cowshed in the southwest region of japan. in this cowshed, the two most common species of mosquitoes collected were culex tritaeniorhynchus (including culex pseudovishnui ... | 2015 | 26085283 |
| detection of mosquito-only flaviviruses in europe. | the genus flavivirus, family flaviviridae, includes a number of important arthropod-transmitted human pathogens such as dengue viruses, west nile virus, japanese encephalitis virus and yellow fever virus. in addition, the genus includes flaviviruses without a known vertebrate reservoir, which have been detected only in insects, particularly in mosquitoes, such as cell fusing agent virus, kamiti river virus, culex flavivirus, aedes flavivirus, quang binh virus, nakiwogo virus and calbertado virus ... | 2012 | 22377581 |
| [first isolation of quang binh-like virus from mosquitoes in china]. | this study aims to investigate the distribution patterns of mosquito-borne viruses in menghai county, xishuangbanna prefecture, yunnan province, china and to provide evidence for the prevention and control of mosquito-borne diseases. mosquito samples were collected using mosquito lamps. viruses were isolated from the samples by cell culture, and the isolates were identified by rt-pcr. the genomes of isolates were sequenced for phylogenetic analysis. in july 2012, a total of 1468 mosquitoes were ... | 2014 | 24772899 |
| co-circulation of aedes flavivirus, culex flavivirus, and quang binh virus in shanghai, china. | with increases in global travel and trade, the spread of arboviruses is undoubtedly alarming. pathogen detection in field-caught mosquitoes can provide the earliest possible warning of transmission. insect-specific flavivirus (isfv) has been first detected in 1991 and documented worldwide in the latest ten years. although infection with isfvs is apparently limited to insects, an increase in the infection rate of mosquito-borne flaviviruses may be able to induce cytopathic effects in vertebrate c ... | 2018 | 30021614 |