Département de Microbiologie-Infectiologie et d'Immunologie, Université Laval, Québec City, QC G1V4G2, Canada.
Department of Medical Entomology & Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 141556446, Iran.
Viruses. 2020 Dec 16;12(12):1449. doi: 10.3390/v12121449.
Using molecular techniques and bioinformatics tools, we studied the vector-host interactions and the molecular epidemiology of West Nile virus (WNV) in western Iran. Mosquitoes were collected during 2017 and 2018. DNA typing assays were used to study vector-host interactions. Mosquitoes were screened by RT-PCR for the genomes of five virus families. WNV-positive samples were fully sequenced and evolutionary tree and molecular architecture were constructed by Geneious software and SWISS-MODEL workspace, respectively. A total of 5028 mosquito specimens were collected and identified. The most prevalent species was complex (57.3%). Analysis of the blood-feeding preferences of blood-fed mosquitoes revealed six mammalian and one bird species as hosts. One mosquito pool containing non-blood-fed and one blood-fed biotype were positive for WNV. A phylogram indicated that the obtained WNV sequences belonged to lineage 2, subclade 2 g. Several amino acid substitutions suspected as virulence markers were observed in the Iranian WNV strains. The three-dimensional structural homology model of the E-protein identified hot spot domains known to facilitate virus invasion and neurotropism. The recent detection of WNV lineage 2 in mosquitoes from several regions of Iran in consecutive years suggests that the virus is established in the country.
利用分子技术和生物信息学工具，我们研究了西尼罗病毒（WNV）在伊朗西部的媒介-宿主相互作用和分子流行病学。在 2017 年和 2018 年期间收集了蚊子。使用 DNA 分型检测来研究媒介-宿主相互作用。通过 RT-PCR 筛选蚊子，以检测五种病毒家族的基因组。对 WNV 阳性样本进行了全序列测序，并使用 Geneious 软件构建进化树，使用 SWISS-MODEL 工作区构建分子结构。共收集和鉴定了 5028 只蚊子标本。最常见的物种是复合蚊（57.3%）。对吸血蚊子的吸血偏好分析显示，六种哺乳动物和一种鸟类为宿主。一个含有未吸血的 蚊 和一个吸血的 蚊 生物型的蚊群对 WNV 呈阳性。系统发育分析表明，获得的 WNV 序列属于 2 谱系，2g 亚分支。在伊朗 WNV 株中观察到几个怀疑是毒力标记的氨基酸取代。E 蛋白的三维结构同源模型确定了已知促进病毒入侵和嗜神经性的热点结构域。近年来，在伊朗几个地区的蚊子中连续检测到 WNV 2 谱系，表明该病毒已在该国建立。
