Keywords: antiviral

Engineered Antiviral Sensor Targets Infected Mosquitoes

E. Dalla Benetta, A. J. Lopez-Denman, H.-H. Li, R. A. Masri, D. J. Brogan, M. Bui, T. Yang, M. Li, M. Dunn, M. J. Klein, S. Jackson, K. Catalan, K. R. Blasdell, P. Tng, I. Antoshechkin, L. S. Alphey, P. N. Paradkar and O. Akbari,  bioRxiv,  2023.01.27.525922. 2023.
Escalating vector disease burdens pose significant global health risks, so innovative tools for targeting mosquitoes are critical. We engineered an antiviral strategy termed REAPER (vRNA Expression Activates Poisonous Effector Ribonuclease) that leverages the programmable ...
Keywords: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wolbachia-Virus interactions and arbovirus control through population replacement in mosquitoes

T. H. Ant, M. V. Mancini, C. J. McNamara, S. M. Rainey and S. P. Sinkins,  Pathogens and Global Health,  2022.
Following transfer into the primary arbovirus vector Aedes aegypti, several strains of the intracellular bacterium Wolbachia have been shown to inhibit the transmission of dengue, Zika, and chikungunya viruses, important human pathogens that cause significant morbidity and ...
Keywords: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wolbachia Impacts Anaplasma Infection in Ixodes scapularis Tick Cells

K. M. Skinner, J. Underwood, A. Ghosh, A. S. Oliva Chavez and C. L. Brelsfoard,  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health,  19. 2022.
The specific interactions of members of tick bacterial microbiota and their effects on pathogen transmission remains relatively unexplored. Here, we introduced a novel Wolbachia infection type into Ixodes scapularis tick cells and examined the antipathogenic effects on the ...
Keywords: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Assessing Aedes aegypti candidate genes during viral infection and Wolbachia-mediated pathogen blocking

L. T. Sigle, M. Jones, M. Novelo, S. A. Ford, N. Urakova, K. Lymperopoulos, R. T. Sayre, Z. Xi, J. L. Rasgon and E. A. McGraw,  Insect Molecular Biology,  2022.
Abstract One approach to control dengue virus transmission is the symbiont Wolbachia, that limits viral infection in mosquitoes. Despite plans for its widespread use in Aedes aegypti, Wolbachia's mode of action remains poorly understood. Many studies suggest that the mechanism is ...
Keywords: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Antiviral Small-Interfering RNA Pathway Induces Zika Virus Resistance in Transgenic Aedes aegypti

A. E. Williams, I. Sanchez-Vargas, W. R. Reid, J. Y. Lin, A. W. E. Franz and K. E. Olson,  Viruses,  12:18. 2020.
We used CRISPR/Cas9 to re-target a previously characterized locus (Chr2:321382225) and engineered mosquitoes expressing an inverted repeat (IR) dsRNA against the NS3/4A region of the ZIKV genome. Small RNA analysis revealed that the IR effector triggered the mosquito's siRNA ...
Keywords: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,