title: Genetic characterization of an insect-specific flavivirus isolated from Culex theileri mosquitoes collected in southern Portugal.
abstract: We describe the full genetic characterization of an insect-specific flavivirus (ISF) from Culex theileri (Theobald) mosquitoes collected in Portugal. This represents the first isolation and full characterization of an ISF from Portuguese mosquitoes. The virus, designated CTFV, for Culex theileri flavivirus, was isolated in the C6/36 Stegomyia albopicta (=Aedes albopictus) cell line, and failed to replicate in vertebrate (Vero) cells in common with other ISFs. The CTFV genome encodes a single polyprotein with 3357 residues showing all the features expected for those of flaviviruses. Phylogenetic analyses based on all ISF sequences available to date, place CTFV among Culex-associated flaviviruses, grouping with recently published NS5 partial sequences documented from mosquitoes collected in the Iberian Peninsula, and with Quang Binh virus (isolated in Vietnam) as a close relative. No CTFV sequences were found integrated in their host's genome using a range of specific PCR primers designed to the prM/E, NS3, and NS5 region.
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Microbiologia Médica, Grupo de Virologia, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Rua da Junqueira 100, 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal. Ricardo@ihmt.unl.pt
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Parreira
authors.forename: Shelley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.forename: Ângela
authors.initials: Â
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.forename: António Pedro
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: de Matos
authors.forename: António Paulo Gouveia
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: de Almeida
authors.forename: João
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Piedade
authors.forename: Aida
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Esteves
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003465:Culex / Q000821:virology*; D005416:Flavivirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010802:Phylogeny; D020815:Polyproteins / Q000235:genetics; D011174:Portugal; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D014776:Virus Cultivation
chemical_list: D020815:Polyproteins; D014764:Viral Proteins