Mosquito Iridescent Virus: New Records from Nature and Infections Using Strelkovimermis spiculatus (Mermithidae) as a Vector Under Laboratory Conditions

MUTTIS, E.; MICIELI, MARÍA V.; BONICA MELISA BERENICE; GHIRINGHELLI, P.D.; GARCÍA, JUAN JOSÉ

NEOTROPICAL ENTOMOLOGY

ENTOMOLOGICAL SOC BRASIL

Lugar: BRASIL; Año: 2020

1519-566X

Iridoviridae is a DNA virus family that affects both vertebrates and invertebrates.Immature aquatic stages of many dipteran species infected withiridovirus have been found in different places worldwide. The most representedgenera of the Culicidae family are Aedes and Psorophora. Todate, sixteen species of Aedes naturally infected with iridoviruses havebeen reported. Moreover, there are four records for the genusPsorophora, one for Culiseta, and two for Culex. In this paper, we reporttwo new mosquito species as natural hosts of iridoviridae in Argentina:Aedes albifasciatus (Macquart) and Culex dolosus (Lynch Arribalzaga). Wealso analyzed the ability of a Cx. pipiens-Invertebrate Iridescent Virus toreplicate in vivo in the larval stage of two mosquito species, Culex apicinusPhilippi and Ae. aegypti (L.) using Strelkovimermis spiculatus as a vector,under laboratory conditions. Although Ae. aegypti is the most recognizedmosquito vector of important arboviruses responsible for emergent diseases,Cx. apicinus and Ae. albifasciatusmay also be implicated in enzooticor epizootic cycles of virus transmission, such as the St. Louis Encephalitisvirus and the Western Equine Encephalomyelitis virus.