Project description:The Flavivirus genus contains some of the most prevalent vector-borne viruses such as dengue, Zika and yellow fever viruses that cause devastating diseases in humans. However, the insect-specific clade of flaviviruses is restricted to mosquito hosts; albeit they have retained the general features of the genus such as genome structure and replication. The interaction between insect-specific flaviviruses (ISFs) and their mosquito hosts are largely unknown. Pathogenic flaviviruses are known to modulate host-derived microRNAs (miRNAs), a class of non-coding RNAs that are important in controlling gene expression. Alteration in miRNAs may represent changes in host gene expression and provide understanding of virus-host interactions. The role of miRNAs in ISF-mosquito interactions is largely unknown. A recently discovered Australian ISF, Palm Creek virus (PCV), has the ability to suppress medically relevant flaviviruses. Here, we investigated the potential involvement of miRNAs in PCV infection using the model mosquito Aedes aegypti. By combining small RNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis, differentially expressed miRNAs were determined. Our results indicated that PCV infection hardly affects host miRNAs. Out of 101 reported miRNAs of Ae. aegypti, only aae-miR-2940-5p had significant altered expression over the course of infection. However, further analysis of aae-miR-2940-5p revealed that this miRNA does not have any direct impact on PCV replication in vitro. Thus, the results overall suggest that PCV infection has a limited effect on the mosquito miRNA profile and therefore, they may not play a significant role the PCV- Ae. aegypti interaction.
Project description:Mosquitoes are the most notorious hematophagous insects and due to their blood feeding behavior and genetic compatibility, numerous mosquito species are highly efficient vectors for certain human pathogenic parasites and viruses. The mosquito midgut is the principal organ of blood meal digestion and nutrient absorption. It is also the initial site of infection with blood meal acquired parasites and viruses. We conducted an analysis based on single-nucleus RNA sequencing(snRNA-Seq) to assess the cellular diversity of the midgut and how individual cells respond to blood meal ingestion to facilitate its digestion.
Project description:We report that ZIKV noncoding RNA (sfRNA) affect expression of mosquito genes upon ZIKV infection. We constructed sfRNA-deficient ZIKV mutant (xrRNA2') and conducted transcriptome-wide gene expression profiling of mosquitos infected with WT and xrRNA2' viruses. We found that sfRNA inhibits apoptosis in the infected tissues of Ae. aegypti by altering expression of mosquito genes that control cell death and survival.
Project description:Zika virus (ZIKV) of the Flaviviridae family is a recently emerged mosquito-borne virus that has been implicated in the surge of the number of microcephaly instances in south America. The virus is transmitted mainly by the mosquito Aedes aegypti that also vectors dengue virus. Considering rather recent rapid spread of the virus and its declaration as a global health emergency by the World Health Organization, little is known about the interactions of the virus with the mosquito vector. In this study, we investigated the transcriptome profiles of whole Ae. aegypti mosquitoes in response to ZIKV infection at 2, 7 and 14 days post-infection using deep sequencing. Results showed a large number of transcripts were altered at each time point following infection, but 18 transcripts were commonly changed at the three time points. The outcomes provide a basic understanding of Ae. aegypti responses to ZIKV and help determining host factors involved in replication or anti-viral response against the virus.
Project description:Argonaute (AGO) proteins bind small RNAs to silence complementary RNA transcripts and are central to RNA interference (RNAi). AGO-crosslinking immunoprecipitation (AGO-CLIP) has illuminated RNAi networks, but bioinformatic analysis is laborious and lack of experimental tools hinders its application outside of model organisms. RNAi is critical for regulation of gene expression and defense against viral infection in the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits Zika, chikungunya, dengue, and yellow fever viruses to cause human disease. We developed AGO-CLIP for both mosquito AGO proteins and a universal, streamlined software package for CLIP analysis, identifying 230 novel small RNAs and 5,447 small RNA targets that comprise a comprehensive RNAi network map. We used this unique resource to predict repression of small RNA targets in specific mosquito tissues. Notably, this resource revealed unexpected AGO target preferences and uncovered a new mode of AGO-mediated repression, findings that have broad implications for the study of antiviral RNAi.
Project description:We compare the transcriptome of gnotobiotic Ae. aegypti generated by contaminating axenic (bacteria-free) larvae with bacterial isolates found in natural mosquito breeding sites. We focused on four bacterial isolates (Lysobacter, Flavobacterium, Paenibacillus and Enterobacteriaceae) and found that different gnotobiotic treatments resulted in massive transcriptomic changes throughout the mosquito development.