Journal of General Virology (2018) 99, 258-264

Ricardo Lourenço-de-Oliveira, João T. Marques, Vattipally B. Sreenu, Célestine Atyame Nten, Eric Roberto Guimarães Rocha Aguiar, Margus Varjak, Alain Kohl and Anna-Bella Failloux (2018)
Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes do not support replication of Zika virus
Journal of General Virology 99 (2), 258-264
Abstract: The rapid spread of Zika virus (ZIKV) in the Americas raised many questions about the role of Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes in transmission, in addition to the key role played by the vector Aedes aegypti. Here we analysed the competence of Cx. quinquefasciatus (with or without Wolbachia endosymbionts) for a ZIKV isolate. We also examined the induction of RNA interference pathways after viral challenge and the production of small virus-derived RNAs. We did not observe any infection nor such small virus-derived RNAs, regardless of the presence or absence of Wolbachia. Thus, Cx. quinquefasciatus does not support ZIKV replication and Wolbachia is not involved in producing this phenotype. In short, these mosquitoes are very unlikely to play a role in transmission of ZIKV.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Anna-Bella Failloux

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Culex quinquefasciatus