Highly Sensitive Virome Characterization of <i>Aedes aegypti</i> and <i>Culex pipiens</i> Complex from Central Europe and the Caribbean Reveals Potential for Interspecies Viral Transmission

• Main Authors: Jakob Thannesberger, Nicolas Rascovan, Anna Eisenmann, Ingeborg Klymiuk, Carina Zittra, Hans-Peter Fuehrer, Thea Scantlebury-Manning, Marquita Gittens-St.Hilaire, Shane Austin, Robert Clive Landis, Christoph Steininger
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-08-01
• Series: Pathogens
• Subjects: mosquito virome; CRESS-DNA viruses; CyCV-VN; insect-specific viruses; ISV; BatCV
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/9/9/686

Mosquitoes are the most important vectors for arthropod-borne viral diseases. Mixed viral infections of mosquitoes allow genetic recombination or reassortment of diverse viruses, turning mosquitoes into potential virologic mixing bowls. In this study, we field-collected mosquitoes of different species (<i>Aedes aegypti</i> and <i>Culex pipiens complex</i>), from different geographic locations and environments (central Europe and the Caribbean) for highly sensitive next-generation sequencing-based virome characterization. We found a rich virus community associated with a great diversity of host species. Among those, we detected a large diversity of novel virus sequences that we could predominately assign to circular Rep-encoding single-stranded (CRESS) DNA viruses, including the full-length genome of a yet undescribed <i>Gemykrogvirus </i>species. Moreover, we report for the first time the detection of a potentially zoonotic CRESS-DNA virus (<i>Cyclovirus VN)</i> in mosquito vectors. This study expands the knowledge on virus diversity in medically important mosquito vectors, especially for CRESS-DNA viruses that have previously been shown to easily recombine and jump the species barrier.