Dissemination and transmission of the E1-226V variant of chikungunya virus in Aedes albopictus are controlled at the midgut barrier level.

ABSTRACT: Emergence of arboviruses could result from their ability to exploit new environments, for example a new host. This ability is facilitated by the high mutation rate occurring during viral genome replication. The last emergence of chikungunya in the Indian Ocean region corroborates this statement since a single viral mutation at the position 226 on the E1 glycoprotein (E1-A226V) was associated with enhanced transmission by the mosquito Aedes albopictus in regions where the major mosquito vector, Aedes aegypti, is absent.We used direct competition assays in vivo to dissect out the mechanisms underlying the selection of E1-226V by Ae. albopictus. When the original variant E1-226A and the newly emerged E1-226V were provided in the same blood-meal at equal titers to both species of mosquitoes, w

SUBMITTER: Arias-Goeta C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3578806 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature