Metagenomic Analysis Reveals Three Novel and Prevalent Mosquito Viruses from a Single Pool of Aedes vexans nipponii Collected in the Republic of Korea

Abstract

Arboviruses continue to be a significant global health concern. The unbiased metagenomic analyses of mosquito-borne and mosquito-specific viruses are useful to understand viral diversity and for the surveillance of pathogens of medical and veterinary importance. Metagenomic analysis was conducted on 6368 mosquitoes (736 pools), covering 16 species from 18 locations throughout the Republic of Korea (ROK) in 2016. In this report, we describe three viruses detected in a single pool of Aedes vexans nipponii collected at Yongsan U.S. Army Garrison, located in a densely populated district of Seoul, the ROK. The three novel viruses, designated as Yongsan bunyavirus 1 (YBV1), Yongsan picorna-like virus 3 (YPLV3) and Yongsan sobemo-like virus 1 (YSLV1), share sequence and structural characteristics with members belonging to the family Bunyaviridae, order Picornavirales, and family Solemoviridae, with shared RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) amino acid identities of 40%, 42% and 86%, respectively. The real-time reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of 3493 Aedes vexans nipponii (257 pools) showed a high prevalence of YBV1 and YSLV1 viruses, which were present in 65% and 62% of tested pools, respectively. This study highlighted the utility of a metagenomic sequencing approach for arbovirus discovery and for a better understanding of the virome of potential medically relevant vectors.