Oral susceptibility of Aedes albopictus to dengue type 2 virus: a study of infection kinetics, using the polymerase chain reaction for viral detection.
Female Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, aged 1 week, were infected with DEN-2 dengue virus. The kinetics of infection in mosquito brain and mesenteron were monitored using DNA probes with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of target DNA sequences coding for DEN-2 virus envelope protein, compared with the standard immunofluorescence assay technique (IFA). Rates of virus detection in the mesenteron of orally infected mosquitoes rose to 38% by day 4 post-inoculation, then declined until day 8, followed by irregular peaks around days 11-14 and subsequently. In mosquito head squashes, virus was detected from day 4 onwards, reaching 38% positive by day 18. Salivary glands of all the same females were found to be positive for virus by day 8 onwards. Parenterally infected Ae.albopictus females were all positive for DEN-2 in the brain and salivary glands 8 days post-inoculation. In every case, results obtained with the PCR matched those from the IFA. Our DNA probe with PCR procedure can therefore be utilized as a sensitive and reliable method for studies of DEN-2 vectors.
Tardieux
I
I
Unité d'Ecologie des Systèmes Vectoriels, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
Poupel
O
O
Rodhain
F
F
Lapchin
L
L
D000330:Aedes / Q000382:microbiology*; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001921:Brain / Q000382:microbiology; D003716:Dengue Virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004064:Digestive System / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012469:Salivary Glands / Q000382:microbiology