Liu Yujie, Zhao Xiaohua, Feng Xiuwei, Zhu Wenbing, Feng Shuo, Ren Meixi, Tu Yingxin, Niu Guoyu, Zhu Yujing
Central Sterile Supply Department, Affiliated Hospital of Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang, China.
Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang, China.
Microbiol Spectr. 2025 Sep 2;13(9):e0101825. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.01018-25. Epub 2025 Aug 11.
Arboviruses represent a growing threat to global public health, as climate change is exacerbating the spread of these vectors and thereby increasing the transmission potential of arboviruses. As primary vectors, mosquitoes harbor remarkably diverse virus populations, broadly classified into mosquito-borne viruses and mosquito-specific viruses. Although metagenomic sequencing has revolutionized viral discovery, geographical variations in mosquito viromes remain poorly characterized. In this study, we conducted comprehensive viral surveillance on 5,051 mosquitoes representing six medically important species (grouped into 14 taxonomic units) collected from Shandong, China, in 2021. Using next-generation sequencing, we generated 3.7 billion clean reads and identified 10 distinct virus species spanning eight virus families. Phylogenetic analyses revealed substantial genomic diversity and complex evolutionary relationships, including two completely novel virus species and several incompletely characterized known viruses. Notably, mosquitoes exhibited significantly greater viral diversity than other species, although we observed considerable overlap in viral communities across mosquito taxa, suggesting non-host-specific viral maintenance. The presence of two novel viruses in field populations was confirmed by RT-qPCR screening, wherein minimum infection rates of 0.16% and 0.38% were established. Our findings substantially expand the known diversity of mosquito-associated viruses in East Asia and provide critical baseline data for arbovirus surveillance programs. This work highlights the value of systematic virome characterization for predicting emerging arboviral threats and understanding virus-mosquito ecology in changing environments.
Ten viruses, including two novel ones, were found in a study performed on mosquitoes in Shandong, China. It shows viral diversity and coexistence in different species, highlighting host impact on viral communities. The new viruses are prevalent locally, with infection rates of 0.38% and 0.16%. This work advances viral ecology understanding and has public health significance. This study sheds light on the circulation of the identified viruses in Shandong.
虫媒病毒对全球公共卫生构成日益严重的威胁，因为气候变化正在加剧这些媒介的传播，从而增加了虫媒病毒的传播潜力。作为主要媒介，蚊子携带种类极为多样的病毒种群，大致可分为蚊媒病毒和蚊特异性病毒。尽管宏基因组测序彻底改变了病毒发现的方式，但蚊子病毒组的地理差异仍未得到充分表征。在本研究中，我们对2021年从中国山东采集的代表6种医学重要物种（分为14个分类单元）的5051只蚊子进行了全面的病毒监测。使用下一代测序技术，我们生成了37亿条干净 reads，并鉴定出跨越8个病毒科的10种不同病毒物种。系统发育分析揭示了大量的基因组多样性和复杂的进化关系，包括两种全新的病毒物种和几种特征未完全明确的已知病毒。值得注意的是，尽管我们观察到不同蚊类群的病毒群落存在相当大的重叠，表明病毒维持具有非宿主特异性，但蚊子的病毒多样性明显高于其他物种。通过RT-qPCR筛选证实了野外种群中存在两种新型病毒，确定其最低感染率分别为0.16%和0.38%。我们的研究结果极大地扩展了东亚地区已知的蚊子相关病毒的多样性，并为虫媒病毒监测计划提供了关键的基线数据。这项工作突出了系统病毒组表征对于预测新兴虫媒病毒威胁以及理解不断变化的环境中病毒-蚊子生态学的价值。
在中国山东对蚊子进行的一项研究中发现了10种病毒，其中包括两种新型病毒。研究显示了不同物种中的病毒多样性和共存情况，突出了宿主对病毒群落的影响。新型病毒在当地普遍存在，感染率分别为0.38%和0.16%。这项工作推进了对病毒生态学的理解，具有公共卫生意义。该研究揭示了山东地区已鉴定病毒的传播情况。
