7 / 20
Page 26
Notes:
allied
academies
Microbiology: Current Research 2017 | Volume 1, Issue 2
Joint Conference
GLOBAL APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY CONFERENCE
MICROBIAL & BIOCHEMICAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGIES
October 18-19, 2017
Toronto, Canada
International Congress on
&
Detection of sequences of novel insect
Flaviviruses
from
Uranotaenia macfarlanei
, known as frog
feeding mosquitoes, in Okinawa, Japan
Mika Saito
1
, H Kise
1, 2
Y Kushida
1, 2
M Mizuyama
1, 2
Y Sato
1, 2
and
C Oyakawa
3
1
University of Tokyo, Japan
2
University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan,
3
Nansei Environmental Laboratory Co. Ltd., Japan
Statement of the Problem:
Infectious diseases caused
by mosquito-borne Flaviviruses, including
Dengue virus,
Japanese encephalitis virus, Zika virus
, and Yellow fever virus,
represent a worldwide public health threat. According to
ecological changes and rapid increases in their incidence and
geographicdistribution,
Flaviviruses
areclassifiedasemerging
or re-emerging pathogens. The mechanisms underlying
winter period maintenance and sylvatic transmission remain
unclear. Okinawa is in the southern part of Japan, includes
small islands, and has a subtropical climate, which allows
some vector mosquitoes to survive year-round. Based on the
vulnerability of isles against external stimuli including the
invasion of known and unknown pathogens, we initiated a
project for the comprehensive and highly sensitive detection
of pathogens from field-caught mosquitoes.
Methodology & Theoretical Orientation:
In 2015 and 2016,
we collected 3396 mosquitoes from 33 sentinels in Okinawa
Island. These mosquitoes were morphologically and
genetically identified and pools were made (max 20). RNA
was extracted from each pool, RT-BT-PCR was conducted
with
Flavivirus
universal primers targeting the NS5 protein
gene (Kuno), and positive PCR products were sequenced.
Findings:
We detected 4 nucleotide sequences of novel
Flaviviruses
from
Uranotaenia macfarlanei
spp, known as
frog-feeding mosquitoes, near a cave in Okinawa Island in
June, Sept, and Oct. 2016. A BLAST search and phylogenetic
analysisoftheNS5proteinusingtheNeighborJoiningmethod,
showed that the sequences created Okinawan-specific
clusters within the clade of insect-specific
Flaviviruses
, and
showed the highest homology with Nakiwogo virus isolated
from Mansonia Africana, Uganda. Attempts to isolate the
virus were unsuccessful.
Conclusion & Significance:
Four sequences were detected
at different times in one location; therefore, viral circulation
was established in the area, possibly between frogs and
Uranotaenia
. These are distinct from other pathogenic
agents of mammals including humans. Pokilotherms
may play important roles in maintaining sylvatic forms of
Flaviviruses
.
Speaker Biography
Mika Saito is a Veterinarian and Assistant Professor in the Department of Virology,
Graduate School of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan. She has
graduated and received a PhD from the Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine,
Hokkaido University in 1986 and 2009, respectively, and received an MA in
International Development from Nihon Fukushi University, Aichi, Japan in 2002. Her
major research interest includes risk assessments of infectious diseases caused by
mosquito-borne
Flaviviruses
such as Japanese
encephalitis
virus and virus, including
human and environmental factors, such as socio-economics and human lifestyles, and
relationships with wild life. She is a Group Leader of mosquito research group in the
project “development for the control strategy of vector-borne and zoonotic diseases in
Okinawa and formulation of networking among stakeholders Okinawa Communicable
Disease Research Hub Formation Promotion Project since 2015”. She is attempting to
combine IT and AI for risk assessments and the control of diseases.
e:
mikas@med.uryukyu.ac.jp