title: Replacement of the 3' untranslated variable region of mosquito-borne dengue virus with that of tick-borne Langat virus does not alter vector specificity.
abstract: The four major flavivirus clades are transmitted by mosquitoes, ticks, directly between vertebrates or directly between arthropods, respectively, but the molecular determinants of mode of transmission in flaviviruses are unknown. To assess the role of the UTRs in transmission, we generated chimeric genomes in which the 5' UTR, capsid and/or 3' UTR of mosquito-borne dengue virus serotype 4 (rDENV-4) were replaced, separately or in combination, with those of tick-borne Langat virus (rLGTV). None of the chimeric genomes yielded detectable virus following transfection. Replacement of the variable region (VR) in the rDENV-4 3' UTR with that of rLGTV generated virus rDENV-4-rLGTswapVR, which showed lower replication than its wild-type parents in mammalian but not mosquito cells in culture and was able to infect mosquitoes in vivo. Neither rDENV-4 nor rDENV-4-rLGTswapVR could infect larval Ixodes scapularis ticks immersed in virus, while rLGTV was highly infectious via this route.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biology Program, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA.
authors.forename: Ebenezer
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tumban
authors.forename: Dana N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Mitzel
authors.forename: Nyree E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Maes
authors.forename: Christopher T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Hanson
authors.forename: Stephen S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Whitehead
authors.forename: Kathryn A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Hanley
mesh_terms: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D000818:Animals; D009033:Culicidae / Q000821:virology; D003716:Dengue Virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D004669:Encephalitis Viruses, Tick-Borne / Q000235:genetics*; D058507:Host Specificity; D018884:Ixodes / Q000821:virology; D011995:Recombination, Genetic
chemical_list: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions