The Evolution and Transmission of Vector-borne Viruses
Naomi L. Forrester, Serafín Gutiérrez and Lark L. Coffey
from: Virus Evolution: Current Research and Future Directions (Edited by: Scott C. Weaver, Mark Denison, Marilyn Roossinck and Marco Vignuzzi). Caister Academic Press, U.K. (2016) Pages: 61-100.
Abstract
Arthropod-borne viruses or arboviruses are those that are transmitted between vertebrate or plant hosts by arthropod vectors such as mosquitoes, ticks or aphids. Here we discuss the implications of this particular life cycle on virus evolution and examine the different mechanisms by which these viruses have adapted to it. Different transmission strategies exist, some requiring replication within the vector and others not, and each strategy may impose different selection pressures and requires specific adaptations. We discuss the latest literature on the evolution of arboviruses at different scales (i.e. within-host and between-host evolution) and the strategies viruses have in countering the different barriers along their particular cycle, whether these barriers are anatomical barriers such as plant cell walls, or a host response such as an activated immune system. Finally we present the latest literature about how the viruses may affect the host and impact their behavior as well. The importance of understanding the evolution of these viruses particularly within the host cannot be understated as, any shift in host or adaptation to a marginal host can result in rapid expansion of the viruses read more ...
