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Updated: Jun 21, 2026
Arbovirus Infections As Screening Tools for the Identification of Viral Immunomodulators and Host Antiviral Factors
Published on: September 13, 2018
Metaviromics Reveals Unknown Viral Diversity in the Biting Midge Culicoides impunctatus
Sejal Modha1, Joseph Hughes2, Giovanni Bianco3
1MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK. s.modha.1@research.gla.ac.uk.
Abstract:
Biting midges (Culicoides species) are vectors of arboviruses and were responsible for the emergence and spread of Schmallenberg virus (SBV) in Europe in 2011 and are likely to be involved in the emergence of other arboviruses in Europe. Improved surveillance and better understanding of risks require a better understanding of the circulating viral diversity in these biting insects. In this study, we expand the sequence space of RNA viruses by identifying a number of novel RNA viruses from Culicoides impunctatus (biting midge) using a meta-transcriptomic approach. A novel metaviromic pipeline called MetaViC was developed specifically to identify novel virus sequence signatures from high throughput sequencing (HTS) datasets in the absence of a known host genome. MetaViC is a protein centric pipeline that looks for specific protein signatures in the reads and contigs generated as part of the pipeline. Several novel viruses, including an alphanodavirus with both segments, a novel relative of the Hubei sobemo-like virus 49, two rhabdo-like viruses and a chuvirus, were identified in the Scottish midge samples. The newly identified viruses were found to be phylogenetically distinct to those previous known. These findings expand our current knowledge of viral diversity in arthropods and especially in these understudied disease vectors.
Insights
Scientists discovered novel RNA viruses in Scottish biting midges using advanced sequencing. This research enhances understanding of viral diversity in disease vectors like Culicoides species.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Arthropod-borne viruses
- Metagenomics
Background:
- Biting midges (Culicoides species) transmit arboviruses, contributing to disease outbreaks such as Schmallenberg virus (SBV) in Europe.
- Understanding viral diversity in these vectors is crucial for improved surveillance and risk assessment of emerging infectious diseases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify novel RNA viruses in Culicoides impunctatus using a meta-transcriptomic approach.
- To develop and apply a novel metaviromic pipeline (MetaViC) for virus discovery in high-throughput sequencing data without a known host genome.
Main Methods:
- Meta-transcriptomic analysis of Culicoides impunctatus samples.
- Development and application of the MetaViC pipeline, a protein-centric approach for identifying novel virus sequence signatures.
- Phylogenetic analysis to determine the distinctness of newly identified viruses.
Main Results:
- Identification of several novel RNA viruses, including an alphanodavirus, a Hubei sobemo-like virus relative, two rhabdo-like viruses, and a chuvirus.
- The newly discovered viruses were found to be phylogenetically distinct from previously known viruses.
- Expansion of the known RNA virus sequence space within arthropod vectors.
Conclusions:
- The study successfully identified novel RNA viruses in Scottish biting midges, expanding the known viral diversity.
- The MetaViC pipeline proved effective for discovering uncharacterized viruses in understudied vectors.
- These findings contribute to a better understanding of arthropod viromes and potential arbovirus emergence.
