Small RNA sequencing of field Culex mosquitoes identifies patterns of viral abundances and the mosquito immune response.

In this study, we sequenced small RNA samples from over 2,000 Culex mosquitoes, in 63 pools, from two major areas of Southern California from 2017 to 2019 to elucidate the virome and immune responses of Culex. Our results demonstrated that small RNAs not only allowed the detection of viruses but also revealed distinct patterns of viral infection based on location, Culex species, and time. We also identified factors likely involved in Culex immune responses to viruses and Wolbachia bacteria, and show the utility of using small RNA to detect antiviral immune pathways.

本研究于2017年至2019年间，从南加州两大主要区域采集了63个混合样本，共计2000余只库蚊（Culex），并对其小分子RNA（small RNA）样本进行测序，以阐明库蚊的病毒组（virome）与免疫应答特征。研究结果表明，小分子RNA不仅可实现病毒的检测，还能基于采样地点、库蚊物种以及采样时间，揭示出差异化的病毒感染模式。本研究还鉴定出了可能参与库蚊针对病毒与沃尔巴克氏体（Wolbachia）细菌的免疫应答的相关因子，并证实了利用小分子RNA检测抗病毒免疫通路的应用价值。