A single amino acid change in the E2 glycoprotein of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus affects replication and dissemination in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
Four monoclonal antibody-resistant variants (MARVs) of Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE) virus were used to study mosquito-virus interactions. In vitro experiments using an Aedes albopictus cell line, C6/36, demonstrated that an amino acid change in the glycoprotein E2h epitope (MARV 1A3B-7) decreased virus growth when compared with the wild-type, Trinidad donkey virus, and its vaccine derivative, TC-83. The MARVs replicated as efficiently as the parent virus when inoculated into Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, but MARV 1A3B-7 was restricted in its ability to infect and disseminate from the midgut following oral infection. These results demonstrate that a single amino acid change in the E2 glycoprotein can affect the ability of VEE virus to replicate and disseminate in Ae. aegypti mosquitoes.
Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, US Department of Health and Human Services, Fort Collins, Colorado.
T M
TM
Woodward
B R
BR
Miller
B J
BJ
Beaty
D W
DW
Trent
J T
JT
Roehrig
D000330:Aedes / Q000382:microbiology; D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology; D002460:Cell Line; D006224:Cricetinae; D004666:Encephalitis Virus, Venezuelan Equine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000382:microbiology; D007700:Kinetics; D014709:Vero Cells; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D014779:Virus Replication
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; C064956:glycoprotein E2, equine encephalitis virus