The Impact of Wolbachia on Virus Infection
A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Insect Viruses".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 475
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Arthropod-borne viruses (Arboviruses), including flaviviruses and alphaviruses, are globally increasing in numbers and expanding in region. These viruses have evolved by serially infecting vertebrates and arthropods and by acquiring higher transmission potentials of the genome sequences. The principal vertebrate hosts are wild mammals and birds, while the major vectors are mosquitoes and ticks. Many transmissions to humans occur by chance (zoonotic diseases); however, the direct cycle between human and mosquitoes is established for dengue virus (DENV), yellow fever virus (YFV) and chikungunya virus (CHIKV). Efforts to reduce the mosquito vector populations and related viral pathogens are ongoing. Recently, there have been uses of Wolbachia (intracellular bacteria infecting insect cells) for trans-infecting mosquitoes. Drosophila-originated Wolbachia, wMel or wMelPop strains transinfected to Aedes aegypti and A. albopictus mosquitoes have been shown to reduce the mosquito population and shorten the mosquito lifespan. Furthermore, it has been revealed that wMel or wMelPop induce strong antiviral protection against DENV. The exonuclease XRN1 activation is induced and degrades DENV RNA. The reactive oxygen species are induced and activate the Toll pathway and produce antimicrobial peptides such as defensin and cecropin, both of which inhibit DENV replication. The cellular lipid metabolism necessary for flaviviral replication and virion assembly is used up by Wolbachia. DENV mutations are induced in the presence of Wolbachia. A deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms behind Wolbachia’s impact on virus infection is necessary for devising safe and efficient strategies to eradicate arbovirus infections.
Dr. Tadahisa Teramoto
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- arboviruses
- wolbachia
- DENV
- YFV
- CHIKV
- viral replication
- eradication strategies
- mechanisms
