Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Dec 16:6:1406.
doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.01406. eCollection 2015.

Faustovirus-Like Asfarvirus in Hematophagous Biting Midges and Their Vertebrate Hosts

Sarah Temmam  1 , Sonia Monteil-Bouchard  1 , Masse Sambou  2 , Maxence Aubadie-Ladrix  2 , Saïd Azza  1 , Philippe Decloquement  1 , Jacques Y Bou Khalil  1 , Jean-Pierre Baudoin  1 , Priscilla Jardot  1 , Catherine Robert  1 , Bernard La Scola  3 , Oleg Y Mediannikov  1 , Didier Raoult  3 , Christelle Desnues  1
Affiliations

Faustovirus-Like Asfarvirus in Hematophagous Biting Midges and Their Vertebrate Hosts

Sarah Temmam et al. Front Microbiol. .

Abstract

Faustovirus, a new Asfarviridae-related giant virus, was recently isolated in Vermamoeba vermiformis, a protist found in sewage water in various geographical locations and occasionally reported in human eye infection cases. As part of a global metagenomic analysis of viral communities existing in biting midges, we report here for the first time the identification and isolation of a Faustovirus-like virus in hematophagous arthropods and its detection in their animal hosts. The DNA virome analysis of three pools of Culicoides sp., engorged female Culicoides imicola and non-engorged male/female C. imicola biting midges collected in Senegal, revealed the presence of amoeba-infecting giant viruses and, among them, a majority of sequences related to Faustovirus. Phylogenetic analyses conducted on several structural genes of Faustovirus confirmed the clustering of the arthropod-borne Faustovirus with sewage-borne Faustoviruses, with a distinct geographical clustering of Senegalese Faustovirus strains. Transmission electron microscopy identified viral particles with morphologies and diameters which were compatible with Faustovirus. The presence of infectious arthropod-borne Faustovirus was finally confirmed by successful isolation on V. vermiformis amoeba. Global proteomic analysis of biting midges identified that arthropods' blood meal originating from cattle, rodents and humans. Further screening of cattle sera and rodent tissue resulted in prevalence of Faustovirus being estimated at 38% in rodents and 14% in cattle, suggesting a possible origin of Faustovirus presence in arthropods via the ingestion of contaminated blood meal. Viral loads were the highest in rodents' urine and kidney samples, suggesting a possible excretion of viral particles into the environment. Faustovirus DNA polymerase-related sequences were also detected in more than 9 and 11% of febrile patients and healthy Senegalese human sera, respectively. Our study thus, highlights the need to investigate the role of arthropods, wildlife, and domestic animals in the lifecycle of amoeba-infecting giant viruses and, in particular, the environmental cycle of Faustovirus.

Keywords: biting midges; bloodmeal host; environment; faustovirus; giant virus.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sampling sites.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Phylogenetic reconstruction of Faustovirus detected in biting midges' viromes based on the (A) nucleotide sequence of the sub-unit common to RNA polymerase I–II–III (substitution model: Kimura-2-parameters) (B) amino-acid sequence of the RNA diphosphate reductase large sub-unit (substitution model: JTT+G, G = 3).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Negative staining electron microscopy imaging of viral particles from Culicoides sp. biting midges' samples. Scale bars are indicated under the images.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Western blot analysis. (A) Silver staining. (B) Staining with anti-Faustovirus polyclonal antibodies on arthropods sample. (C) Positive control of Faustovirus western blot with a loading of 5 μg of proteins.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Quantification of Faustovirus viral loads according to (A) tissue samples (B) animal species. Viral loads are expressed in log10 VLP/mL.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Agbolade O. M., Akinboye D. O., Olateju T. M., Ayanbiyi O. A., Kuloyo O. O., Fenuga O. O. (2006). Biting of anthropophilic Culicoides fulvithorax (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), a vector of Mansonella perstans in Nigeria. Korean J. Parasitol. 44, 67–72. 10.3347/kjp.2006.44.1.67 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bishop-Lilly K. A., Turell M. J., Willner K. M., Butani A., Nolan N. M., Lentz S. M., et al. . (2010). Arbovirus detection in insect vectors by rapid, high-throughput pyrosequencing. PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis. 4:e878. 10.1371/journal.pntd.0000878 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Boratto P., Albarnaz J. D., Almeida G. M., Botelho L., Fontes A. C., Costa A. O., et al. . (2015). Acanthamoeba polyphaga Mimivirus prevents amoebal encystment-mediating serine proteinase expression and circumvents cell encystment. J. Virol. 89, 2962–2965. 10.1128/JVI.03177-14 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Boughalmi M., Pagnier I., Aherfi S., Colson P., Raoult D., La Scola B. (2013a). First isolation of a Marseillevirus in the Diptera Syrphidae Eristalis tenax. Intervirology 56, 386–394. 10.1159/000354560 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Boughalmi M., Pagnier I., Aherfi S., Colson P., Raoult D., La Scola B. (2013b). First isolation of a giant virus from wild Hirudo medicinalis leech: Mimiviridae isolation in Hirudo medicinalis. Viruses 5, 2920–2930. 10.3390/v5122920 - DOI - PMC - PubMed