Insect-specific flaviviruses and densoviruses, suggested to have been transmitted vertically, found in mosquitoes collected in Angola: Genome detection and phylogenetic characterization of viral sequences

Abstract

This report describes a survey of RNA and DNA viruses carried out in adult mosquitoes from Angola, raised under laboratory conditions from field-collected immature forms. This viral genomic survey was performed using different sets of primers targeting groups of arboviruses with a considerable impact on human health, including flaviviruses, alphaviruses, and phleboviruses. Furthermore, the viral survey that was performed also included detection of densoviruses. The obtained results did not reveal the presence of recognizable pathogenic arboviruses but allowed the identification of insect-specific flaviviruses from two genetic lineages and a single lineage of brevidensoviruses. These viruses, collectivelly detected in Anopheles sp. and Culex pipiens s.l. mosquitoes, were most probably transmitted vertically.

Keywords: Angola; Densoviruses; Flaviviruses; Mosquitoes; Phylogenetic analysis; Vertical transmission.