Laboratory demonstration of the vertical transmission of Rift Valley fever virus by Culex tarsalis mosquitoes

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a mosquito-transmitted virus with proven ability to emerge into naïve geographic areas. Limited field evidence suggests that RVFV is transmitted vertically from parent mosquito to offspring, but until now this mechanism has not been confirmed in the laboratory. Furt...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PLoS neglected tropical diseases 2021-03, Vol.15 (3), p.e0009273-e0009273
Main Authors: Bergren, Nicholas A, Borland, Erin M, Hartman, Daniel A, Kading, Rebekah C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amphotericin B
Animals
Antigens
Aquatic insects
Beads
Biology and Life Sciences
Blood
Blood meals
Coccidioidomycosis
Culex - virology
Culicidae
Detection
Development and progression
Disease transmission
Experiments
Female
Females
Gentamicin
Glass beads
Health aspects
Humans
Infections
Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical
Instars
Laboratories
Larvae
Livestock
Male
Meals
Medicine and Health Sciences
Mortality
Mosquito Vectors - classification
Mosquito Vectors - virology
Mosquitoes
Offspring
Ova
Ovary - virology
Penicillin
Progeny
Rift Valley fever
Rift Valley Fever - transmission
Rift Valley fever virus - isolation & purification
Risk factors
Streptomycin
Transmission
Tropical diseases
Tubes
Vector-borne diseases
Viral Load
Virus research
Viruses
Wildlife sanctuaries
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Description
Summary:Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a mosquito-transmitted virus with proven ability to emerge into naïve geographic areas. Limited field evidence suggests that RVFV is transmitted vertically from parent mosquito to offspring, but until now this mechanism has not been confirmed in the laboratory. Furthermore, this transmission mechanism has allowed for the prediction of RVFV epizootics based on rainfall patterns collected from satellite information. However, in spite of the relevance to the initiation of epizootic events, laboratory confirmation of vertical transmission has remained an elusive research aim for thirty-five years. Herein we present preliminary evidence of the vertical transmission of RVFV by Culex tarsalis mosquitoes after oral exposure to RVFV. Progeny from three successive gonotrophic cycles were reared to adults, with infectious RVFV confirmed in each developmental stage. Virus was detected in ovarian tissues of parental mosquitoes 7 days after imbibing an infectious bloodmeal. Infection was confirmed in progeny as early as the first gonotrophic cycle, with infection rates ranging from 2.0-10.0%. Virus titers among progeny were low, which may indicate a host mechanism suppressing replication.
ISSN:1935-2735
1935-2727
1935-2735
DOI:10.1371/journal.pntd.0009273