Aedes aegypti Strain Subjected to Long-Term Exposure to Bacillus thuringiensis svar. israelensis Larvicides Displays an Altered Transcriptional Response to Zika Virus Infection

Karine S Carvalho; Tatiana M T Rezende; Tatiany P Romão; Antônio M Rezende; Marcos Chiñas; Duschinka R D Guedes; Milena Paiva-Cavalcanti; Maria Helena N L Silva-Filha

doi:10.3390/v15010072

Aedes aegypti Strain Subjected to Long-Term Exposure to Bacillus thuringiensis svar. israelensis Larvicides Displays an Altered Transcriptional Response to Zika Virus Infection

Viruses. 2022 Dec 27;15(1):72. doi: 10.3390/v15010072.

Authors

Karine S Carvalho¹, Tatiana M T Rezende¹, Tatiany P Romão¹, Antônio M Rezende¹, Marcos Chiñas², Duschinka R D Guedes¹, Milena Paiva-Cavalcanti¹, Maria Helena N L Silva-Filha¹

Affiliations

¹ Aggeu Magalhães Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Recife 50670-420, Brazil.
² Center for Genomic Sciences, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Cuernavaca 62210, Mexico.

Abstract

Bacillus thuringiensis svar. israelensis (Bti) larvicides are effective in controlling Aedes aegypti; however, the effects of long-term exposure need to be properly evaluated. We established an Ae. aegypti strain that has been treated with Bti for 30 generations (RecBti) and is still susceptible to Bti, but females exhibited increased susceptibility to Zika virus (ZIKV). This study compared the RecBti strain to a reference strain regarding: first, the relative transcription of selected immune genes in ZIKV-challenged females (F₃₀) with increased susceptibility detected in a previous study; then, the whole transcriptomic profile using unchallenged females (F₃₅). Among the genes compared by RT-qPCR in the ZIKV-infected and uninfected females from RecBti (F₃₀) and the reference strain, hop, domeless, relish 1, defensin A, cecropin D, and gambicin showed a trend of repression in RecBti infected females. The transcriptome of RecBti (F₃₅) unchallenged females, compared with a reference strain by RNA-seq, showed a similar profile and only 59 differentially expressed genes were found among 9202 genes analyzed. Our dataset showed that the long-term Bti exposure of the RecBti strain was associated with an alteration of the expression of genes potentially involved in the response to ZIKV infection in challenged females, which is an important feature found under this condition.

Keywords: Aedes control; Bti; RNA-seq; ZIKV; immune genes; transcriptome.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aedes*
Animals
Bacillus thuringiensis* / genetics
Female
Larva
Zika Virus Infection*
Zika Virus*

Grants and funding

This study was funded by the Brazilian Council of Research-CNPq (grant 4007471/2019-7), Fundação para o Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco (FACEPE grants APQ-0096-2.13/16, BFP-0070-2.13/18, BFP-0090-2.13/20).