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Discovery of Novel Viruses in Culicoides Biting Midges in Chihuahua, Mexico

Authors :
S. Viridiana Laredo-Tiscareño
Javier A. Garza-Hernandez
Chandra S. Tangudu
Wichan Dankaona
Carlos A. Rodríguez-Alarcón
Jaime R. Adame-Gallegos
Erick J. De Luna Santillana
Herón Huerta
Rodolfo Gonzalez-Peña
Alejandra Rivera-Martínez
Ezequiel Rubio-Tabares
Diana M. Beristain-Ruiz
Bradley J. Blitvich
Source :
Viruses, Vol 16, Iss 7, p 1160 (2024)
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2024.

Abstract

Biting midges (Culicoides) are vectors of many pathogens of medical and veterinary importance, but their viromes are poorly characterized compared to certain other hematophagous arthropods, e.g., mosquitoes and ticks. The goal of this study was to use metagenomics to identify viruses in Culicoides from Mexico. A total of 457 adult midges were collected in Chihuahua, northern Mexico, in 2020 and 2021, and all were identified as female Culicoides reevesi. The midges were sorted into five pools and homogenized. An aliquot of each homogenate was subjected to polyethylene glycol precipitation to enrich for virions, then total RNA was extracted and analyzed by unbiased high-throughput sequencing. We identified six novel viruses that are characteristic of viruses from five families (Nodaviridae, Partitiviridae, Solemoviridae, Tombusviridae, and Totiviridae) and one novel virus that is too divergent from all classified viruses to be assigned to an established family. The newly discovered viruses are phylogenetically distinct from their closest known relatives, and their minimal infection rates in female C. reevesi range from 0.22 to 1.09. No previously known viruses were detected, presumably because viral metagenomics had never before been used to study Culicoides from the Western Hemisphere. To conclude, we discovered multiple novel viruses in C. reevesi from Mexico, expanding our knowledge of arthropod viral diversity and evolution.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
19994915
Volume :
16
Issue :
7
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Viruses
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.f8bfd8c447b4b5c8de7e0c568820157
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/v16071160