Evolution and biological significance of flaviviral elements in the genome of the arboviral vector Aedes albopictus

Vincent Houé (1, 2) , Gaelle Gabiane (1) , Catherine Dauga (3) , Marie Suez (4) , Yoann Madec (5) , Laurence Mousson (1) , Michele Marconcini (6) , Pei-Shi Yen (1) , Xavier de Lamballerie (7, 8) , Mariangela Bonizzoni (6) , Anna-Bella Failloux (1)

1 Arbovirus et Insectes Vecteurs - Arboviruses and Insect Vectors
2 SU - Sorbonne Université
3 C3BI - Centre de Bioinformatique, Biostatistique et Biologie Intégrative
4 IBPS - Institut de Biologie Paris Seine
5 Epidémiologie des Maladies Emergentes - Emerging Diseases Epidemiology
6 UNIPV - Università degli Studi di Pavia = University of Pavia
7 IHU Marseille - Institut Hospitalier Universitaire Méditerranée Infection
8 UVE - Unité des Virus Emergents

Since its genome details are publically available, the mosquito Aedes albopictus has become the central stage of attention for deciphering multiple biological and evolutionary aspects at the root of its success as an invasive species. Its genome of 1,967 Mb harbours an unusual high number of non-retroviral integrated RNA virus sequences (NIRVS). NIRVS are enriched in piRNA clusters and produce piRNAs, suggesting an antiviral effect. Here, we investigated the evolutionary history of NIRVS in geographically distant Ae. albopictus populations by comparing genetic variation as derived by neutral microsatellite loci and seven selected NIRVS. We found that the evolution of NIRVS was far to be neutral with variations both in their distribution and sequence polymorphism among Ae. albopictus populations. The Flaviviral elements AlbFlavi2 and AlbFlavi36 were more deeply investigated in their association with dissemination rates of dengue virus (DENV) and chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in Ae. albopictus at both population and individual levels. Our results show a complex association between NIRVS and DENV/CHIKV opening a new avenue for investigating the functional role of NIRVS as antiviral elements shaping vector competence of mosquitoes to arboviruses

Mots clés: arboviral diseases; vector competence; genetic structure; NIRVS

Domaines: Virologie

Vincent Houé, Gaelle Gabiane, Catherine Dauga, Marie Suez, Yoann Madec, et al.. Evolution and biological significance of flaviviral elements in the genome of the arboviral vector Aedes albopictus. Emerging microbes & infections, 2019, 8 (1), pp.1265-1279. ⟨10.1080/22221751.2019.1657785⟩. ⟨pasteur-02278672⟩