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Journal of General Virology header logo Journal of General Virology

Volume 92, Issue 4

Replacement of the 3′ untranslated variable region of mosquito-borne dengue virus with that of tick-borne Langat virus does not alter vector specificity No Access

Abstract

The four major flavivirus clades are transmitted by mosquitoes, ticks, directly between vertebrates or directly between arthropods, respectively, but the molecular determinants of mode of transmission in flaviviruses are unknown. To assess the role of the UTRs in transmission, we generated chimeric genomes in which the 5′ UTR, capsid and/or 3′ UTR of mosquito-borne dengue virus serotype 4 (rDENV-4) were replaced, separately or in combination, with those of tick-borne Langat virus (rLGTV). None of the chimeric genomes yielded detectable virus following transfection. Replacement of the variable region (VR) in the rDENV-4 3′ UTR with that of rLGTV generated virus rDENV-4-rLGTswapVR, which showed lower replication than its wild-type parents in mammalian but not mosquito cells in culture and was able to infect mosquitoes . Neither rDENV-4 nor rDENV-4-rLGTswapVR could infect larval ticks immersed in virus, while rLGTV was highly infectious via this route.

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2011-04-01
2025-11-07

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Replacement of the 3′ untranslated variable region of mosquito-borne dengue virus with that of tick-borne Langat virus does not alter vector specificity
J. Gen. Virol. 92, 841 (2011); https://doi.org/10.1099/vir.0.026997-0
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/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/vir.0.026997-0
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vol. , part 4, pp. 841 - 848

RNA replication of rDENV-4, rDENV-4-LGTswapVR, and rLGTV in larvae

Primers used for cloning, RT-PCR and nuclease mapping [Single PDF file](122 KB)

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