West Nile virus infection alters midgut gene expression in Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae)

Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2009 Aug;81(2):258-63.

Abstract

Alterations in gene expression in the midgut of female Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus exposed to blood meals containing 6.8 logs plaque-forming units/mL of West Nile virus (WNV) were studied by fluorescent differential display. Twenty-six different cDNAs exhibited reproducible differences after feeding on infected blood. Of these, 21 cDNAs showed an increase in expression, and 5 showed a decrease in expression as a result of WNV presence in the blood meal. GenBank database searches showed that one clone with increased expression, CQ G12A2, shares 94% identity with a leucine-rich repeat-containing protein from Cx. p. quinquefasciatus and 32% identity to Toll-like receptors from Aedes aegypti. We present the first cDNA clone isolated from female Cx. p. quinquefasciatus midgut tissue whose expression changes on exposure to WNV. This cDNA represents a mosquito gene that is an excellent candidate for interacting with WNV in Cx. p. quinquefasciatus and may play a role in disease transmission.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Culex / virology*
  • DNA, Complementary / metabolism
  • Female
  • Gastrointestinal Tract / metabolism
  • Gene Expression Regulation / physiology*
  • Insect Proteins / chemistry
  • Insect Proteins / genetics
  • Insect Proteins / metabolism
  • Insect Vectors / virology*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • RNA / isolation & purification
  • Sequence Alignment
  • West Nile virus / physiology*

Substances

  • DNA, Complementary
  • Insect Proteins
  • RNA