Investigations into how Anopheles-specific flaviviruses affect arbovirus and Plasmodium transmission

Mosquitoes can transmit a variety of pathogens including malaria parasites and arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) such as dengue, Zika, West Nile, and yellow fever viruses, which cause deadly and debilitating diseases in humans and other animals. To prevent these diseases, vectors are controlled with insecticides, but resistance is becoming increasingly common, necessitating novel control methods. A recently identified group of insect-specific flaviviruses (ISFVs) that only infect mosquitoes and are transmitted from mothers to offspring may hold the key to the control of mosquito-borne diseases. ISFVs can either inhibit or increase replication of arboviruses within mosquito populations. Most recently, ISFVs specific to Anopheles mosquito malaria vectors has been discovered. However, data on how they modulate vector competence to arbovirus, and possibly even malaria, transmission remains scarce. In this project, I will inoculate mosquito cell lines and mosquitoes with ISFVs and examine their effects on various arboviruses as well as Plasmodium (malaria) parasites.