Heterologous reassortment of bunyaviruses in Aedes triseriatus mosquitoes and transovarial and oral transmission of newly evolved genotypes

• Published in: Journal of general virology 1990-05, Vol.71 (5), p.1045-1050
• Main Authors: Chandler, L.J, Beaty, B.J, Baldridge, G.D, Bishop, D.H.L, Hewlett, M.J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aedes - microbiology; Aedes triseriatus; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Bunyaviridae; Bunyaviridae - genetics; Cell Line; Culicidae; Diptera; disease transmission; disease vectors; Encephalitis Virus, California - genetics; Encephalitis Virus, California - physiology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; gene segment reassortment; Mice; Microbiology; Oviposition; Ovum - microbiology; Phenotype; Replicative cycle, interference, host-virus relations, pathogenicity, miscellaneous strains; snowshoe hare virus; Temperature; Virology; Virus Replication
• ISSN: 0022-1317; 1465-2099
• DOI: 10.1099/0022-1317-71-5-1045

1 Department of Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523 2 Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, U.S.A. and 3 NERC Institute of Virology and Environmental Microbiology, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3SR, U.K. Aedes triseriatus mosquitoes were orally infected with two different California serogroup bunyaviruses (La Crosse and snowshoe hare viruses) and high frequency reassortment occurred in these mosquitoes. Increased viral replication and subsequent gene segment reassortment was noted in the ovaries of mosquitoes that had ingested multiple blood-meals. To determine whether newly generated reassortant viruses could be transmitted transovarially to progeny mosquitoes, adult female mosquitoes were inoculated with the two temperature-sensitive (ts) parental viruses, and allowed to blood-feed and oviposit. Of 58 infected progeny mosquitoes assayed, six (10%) contained non-ts viruses, and three of these transmitted non-ts viruses to a susceptible host. Selected viruses of the non-ts phenotype, which were isolated from mosquitoes and from mice fed upon by the mosquitoes, were demonstrated to be reassortant viruses by oligonucleotide fingerprinting. Received 27 September 1989; accepted 6 February 1990.