Abstract
To increase our understanding of the diversity of the mosquito virome, 6956 mosquitoes of five species (Culex erraticus, Culex pipiens, Culex restuans, Culex tarsalis, and Culex territans) collected in Iowa in the United States in 2017 and 2020 were assayed for novel viruses by performing polyethylene glycol precipitation, virus isolation in cell culture, and unbiased high-throughput sequencing. A novel virus, provisionally named “Walnut Creek virus”, was isolated from Cx. tarsalis, and its genomic sequence and organization are characteristic of viruses in the genus Hapavirus (family Rhabdoviridae). Replication of Walnut Creek virus occurred in avian, mammalian, and mosquito, but not tick, cell lines. A novel virus was also isolated from Cx. restuans, and partial genome sequencing revealed that it is distantly related to an unclassified virus of the genus Phytoreovirus (family Sedoreoviridae). Two recognized viruses were also isolated: Culex Y virus (family Birnaviridae) and Houston virus (family Mesoniviridae). We also identified sequences of eight novel viruses from six families (Amalgaviridae, Birnaviridae, Partitiviridae, Sedoreoviridae, Tombusviridae, and Totiviridae), two viruses that do not belong to any established families, and many previously recognized viruses. In summary, we provide evidence of multiple novel and recognized viruses in Culex spp. mosquitoes in the United States.
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Data availability
All sequences generated in this study have been submitted to the GenBank database.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank the local public health partners who assisted in the mosquito surveillance efforts. The authors also thank Ulrike Munderloh for providing ISE6 cells and L15C medium, and Lauren Hensley for technical assistance.
Funding
This study was primarily supported by intramural funds provided by the College of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University. The study was also supported by the Iowa Department of Public Health through Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases (ELC) Program Components Contract #5887EL11 and Iowa State University Agricultural Experiment Station, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Hatch Project 101071. This publication was also supported by Cooperative Agreement #U01 CK000505, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention or the Department of Health and Human Services.
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CST performed most of the laboratory work and all of the bioinformatics and phylogenetic analyses; AMH and SVLT performed selected experiments, including some of the PEG precipitations, RNA extractions, RT-PCRs, and cell culture; RCS coordinated the mosquito collections; and BJB conceived the idea and prepared the first draft of the manuscript. All other authors reviewed the first draft and provided constructive feedback. RCS and BJB acquired the funding that supported the study.
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Tangudu, C.S., Hargett, A.M., Laredo-Tiscareño, S.V. et al. Isolation of a novel rhabdovirus and detection of multiple novel viral sequences in Culex species mosquitoes in the United States. Arch Virol 167, 2577–2590 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-022-05586-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-022-05586-5