Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Elicits Early Transcriptome Response in Culicoides sonorensis Cells

Stacey L P Scroggs; Edward J Bird; David C Molik; Dana Nayduch

doi:10.3390/v15102108

Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Elicits Early Transcriptome Response in Culicoides sonorensis Cells

Viruses. 2023 Oct 18;15(10):2108. doi: 10.3390/v15102108.

Authors

Stacey L P Scroggs¹, Edward J Bird², David C Molik¹, Dana Nayduch¹

Affiliations

¹ Arthropod-Borne Animal Disease Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Manhattan, KS 66502, USA.
² Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66502, USA.

Abstract

Viruses that are transmitted by arthropods, or arboviruses, have evolved to successfully navigate both the invertebrate and vertebrate hosts, including their immune systems. Biting midges transmit several arboviruses including vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV). To study the interaction between VSV and midges, we characterized the transcriptomic responses of VSV-infected and mock-infected Culicoides sonorensis cells at 1, 8, 24, and 96 h post inoculation (HPI). The transcriptomic response of VSV-infected cells at 1 HPI was significant, but by 8 HPI there were no detectable differences between the transcriptome profiles of VSV-infected and mock-infected cells. Several genes involved in immunity were upregulated (ATG2B and TRAF4) or downregulated (SMAD6 and TOLL7) in VSV-treated cells at 1 HPI. These results indicate that VSV infection in midge cells produces an early immune response that quickly wanes, giving insight into in vivo C. sonorensis VSV tolerance that may underlie their permissiveness as vectors for this virus.

Keywords: Culicoides; VSNJV; VSV; arbovirus; biting midge; immune response; negative-sense RNA virus; transcriptome; vesicular stomatitis virus; zoonotic.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Animals
Arboviruses* / genetics
Ceratopogonidae* / genetics
Insect Vectors
Transcriptome
Vesicular Stomatitis* / genetics
Vesicular stomatitis Indiana virus / genetics
Vesiculovirus / genetics

Grants and funding

This study was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, NP-103 Animal Health National Program Project 3020-32000-019-00D and NP-104 Veterinary, Medical and Urban Entomology National Program Project 3020-32000-018-00D. E.B. is supported by USDA-ARS cooperative agreement number 3022-32000-013-005S, which also funded RNA sequencing.