vector-borne transmission imposes a severe bottleneck on an rna virus population虫媒传播对rna病毒严重的瓶颈.pdfVIP

Vector-Borne Transmission Imposes a Severe Bottleneck on an RNA Virus Population 1 1 1 2 1 Naomi L. Forrester , Mathilde Guerbois , Robert L. Seymour , Heidi Spratt , Scott C. Weaver * 1 Institute for Human Infections and Immunity, Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases and Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America, 2 Sealy Center for Preventative Medicine and Preventative Medicine and Community Health, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America Abstract RNA viruses typically occur in genetically diverse populations due to their error-prone genome replication. Genetic diversity is thought to be important in allowing RNA viruses to explore sequence space, facilitating adaptation to changing environments and hosts. Some arboviruses that infect both a mosquito vector and a mammalian host are known to experience population bottlenecks in their vectors, which may constrain their genetic diversity and could potentially lead to extinction events via Muller’s ratchet. To examine this potential challenge of bottlenecks for arbovirus perpetuation, we studied Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) enzootic subtype IE and its natural vector Culex (Melanoconion) taeniopus, as an example of a virus-vector interaction with a long evolutionary history. Using a mixture of marked VEEV clones to infect C. taeniopus and real-time RT-PCR to track these clones during mosquito infection and dissemination, we observed severe bottleneck events that resulted in a significant drop in the number of clones present. At higher initial