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Zika virus disease is caused by Zika virus infection, as transmitted by Aedes spp. mosquitoes. Many of the Zika virus strains isolated from patients display different pathogenicities toward humans. The vector mosquitoes for Zika virus are mainly of the Aedes genus, especially Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. However, susceptibility and interactions between Aedes spp. mosquitoes and Zika viruses remain unclear. In this study, we chose two Zika virus strains (FSS13025 and PRVABC59) with different abilities to infect the primary vector mosquitoes Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. The transcriptomes and small RNA profiles of infected and uninfected mosquitoes were comparatively analyzed, and differentially expressed genes were functionally examined using RNA interference. According to the results, the susceptibility of PRVABC59 was higher than that of FSS13025 in Aedes vector mosquitoes, and Ae. aegypti was more susceptible to Zika virus than was Ae. albopictus. For PRVABC59 infection, specific differential expression profiles correlated with Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus, and susceptibility was significantly affected when three targeted genes were successfully knocked down. Compared with PRVABC59, infection of Ae. albopictus with FSS13025 generated more 21‐nt virus small interference RNA. It can be concluded that the susceptibility of vector Aedes spp. mosquitoes to Zika viruses varies and that the interactions between mosquitoes and Zika virus correlate with susceptibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus, also known as the Asian tiger mosquito, is a mosquito which originated in Asia. In recent years, it has become increasingly rampant throughout the world. This mosquito can transmit several arboviruses, including dengue, Zika and chikungunya viruses, and is considered a public health threat. Despite the urgent need of genome engineering to analyze specific gene functions, progress in genetical manipulation of Ae. albopictus has been slow due to a lack of efficient methods and genetic markers. In the present study, we established targeted disruptions in two genes, kynurenine hydroxylase (kh) and dopachrome conversion enzyme (yellow), to analyze the feasibility of generating visible phenotypes with genome editing by the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) / CRISPR‐associated protein 9 (Cas9) system in Ae. albopictus. Following Cas9 single guide RNA ribonucleoprotein injection into the posterior end of pre‐blastoderm embryos, 30%–50% of fertile survivors produced alleles that failed to complement existing kh and yellow mutations. Complete eye and body pigmentation defects were readily observed in G1 pupae and adults, indicating successful generation of highly heritable mutations. We conclude that the CRISPR/Cas9‐mediated gene editing system can be used in Ae. albopictus and that it can be adopted as an efficient tool for genome‐scale analysis and biological study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]