Gain without pain: adaptation and increased virulence of Zika virus in vertebrate host without fitness cost in mosquito vector.

IMPORTANCE: Previously, we modeled direct transmission chains of Zika virus (ZIKV) by serially passaging ZIKV in mice and mosquitoes and found that direct mouse transmission chains selected for viruses with increased virulence in mice and the acquisition of non-synonymous amino acid substitutions. Here, we show that these same mouse-passaged viruses also maintain fitness and transmission capacity in mosquitoes. We used infectious clone-derived viruses to demonstrate that the substitution in nonstructural protein 4A contributes to increased virulence in mice.

Shedding of infectious SARS-CoV-2 despite vaccination.

The SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant of Concern is highly transmissible and contains mutations that confer partial immune escape. The emergence of Delta in North America caused the first surge in COVID-19 cases after SARS-CoV-2 vaccines became widely available. To determine whether individuals infected despite vaccination might be capable of transmitting SARS-CoV-2, we compared RT-PCR cycle threshold (Ct) data from 20,431 test-positive anterior nasal swab specimens from fully vaccinated (n = 9,347) or unvaccinated (n = 11,084) individuals tested at a single commercial laboratory during the interval 28 June- 1 December 2021 when Delta variants were predominant. We observed no significant effect of vaccine status alone on Ct value, nor when controlling for vaccine product or sex. Testing a subset of low-Ct (<25) samples, we detected infectious virus at similar rates, and at similar titers, in specimens from vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. These data indicate that vaccinated individuals infected with Delta variants are capable of shedding infectious SARS-CoV-2 and could play a role in spreading COVID-19.

Rapid evolution of enhanced Zika virus virulence during direct vertebrate transmission chains.

Zika virus (ZIKV) has the unusual capacity to circumvent natural alternating mosquito-human transmission and be directly transmitted human-to-human via sexual and vertical routes. The impact of direct transmission on ZIKV evolution and adaptation to vertebrate hosts is unknown. Here we show that molecularly barcoded ZIKV rapidly adapted to a mammalian host during direct transmission chains in mice, coincident with the emergence of an amino acid substitution previously shown to enhance virulence. In contrast, little to no adaptation of ZIKV to mice was observed following chains of direct transmission in mosquitoes or alternating host transmission. Detailed genetic analyses revealed that ZIKV evolution in mice was generally more convergent and subjected to more relaxed purifying selection than in mosquitoes or alternate passages. These findings suggest that prevention of direct human transmission chains may be paramount to resist gains in ZIKV virulence.Importance We used experimental evolution to model chains of direct and indirect Zika virus (ZIKV) transmission by serially passaging a synthetic swarm of molecularly barcoded ZIKV within and between mosquitoes and mice. We observed that direct mouse transmission chains facilitated a rapid increase in ZIKV replication and enhanced virulence in mice. These findings demonstrate that ZIKV is capable of rapid adaptation to a vertebrate host and indicate that direct human-to-human transmission could pose a greater threat to public health than currently realized.

Revealing fine-scale spatiotemporal differences in SARS-CoV-2 introduction and spread.

Evidence-based public health approaches that minimize the introduction and spread of new SARS-CoV-2 transmission clusters are urgently needed in the United States and other countries struggling with expanding epidemics. Here we analyze 247 full-genome SARS-CoV-2 sequences from two nearby communities in Wisconsin, USA, and find surprisingly distinct patterns of viral spread. Dane County had the 12th known introduction of SARS-CoV-2 in the United States, but this did not lead to descendant community spread. Instead, the Dane County outbreak was seeded by multiple later introductions, followed by limited community spread. In contrast, relatively few introductions in Milwaukee County led to extensive community spread. We present evidence for reduced viral spread in both counties following the statewide "Safer at Home" order, which went into effect 25 March 2020. Our results suggest patterns of SARS-CoV-2 transmission may vary substantially even in nearby communities. Understanding these local patterns will enable better targeting of public health interventions.

Engineering a fidelity-variant live-attenuated vaccine for chikungunya virus.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), which causes a febrile illness characterized by severe and prolonged polyarthralgia/polyarthritis, is responsible for a global disease burden of millions of cases each year with autochthonous transmission in over 100 countries and territories worldwide. There is currently no approved treatment or vaccine for CHIKV. One live-attenuated vaccine (LAV) developed by the United States Army progressed to Phase II human clinical trials but was withdrawn when 8% of volunteers developed joint pain associated with vaccination. Attenuation of the Army's CHIKV LAV strain 181 clone 25 (CHIKV-181/25) relies on two mutations in the envelope 2 (E2) glycoprotein responsible for cell binding and entry, making it particularly prone to reversion, a common concern for replication-competent vaccines. High error rates associated with RNA virus replication have posed a challenge for LAV development where stable incorporation of attenuating elements is necessary for establishing safety in pre-clinical models. Herein, we incorporate two replicase mutations into CHIKV-181/25 which modulate CHIKV replication fidelity combined with additional attenuating features that cannot be eliminated by point mutation. The mutations were stably incorporated in the LAV and did not increase virulence in mice. Two fidelity-variant CHIKV LAVs generated neutralizing antibodies and were protective from CHIKV disease in adult mice. Unexpectedly, our fidelity-variant candidates were more mutable than CHIKV-181/25 and exhibited restricted replication in mice and Aedes mosquitoes, a possible consequence of hypermutation. Our data demonstrate safety and efficacy but highlight a further need to evaluate fidelity-altering phenotypes before use as a LAV given the potential for virulent reversion.

Distinct patterns of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in two nearby communities in Wisconsin, USA.

Evidence-based public health approaches that minimize the introduction and spread of new SARS-CoV-2 transmission clusters are urgently needed in the United States and other countries struggling with expanding epidemics. Here we analyze 247 full-genome SARS-CoV-2 sequences from two nearby communities in Wisconsin, USA, and find surprisingly distinct patterns of viral spread. Dane County had the 12th known introduction of SARS-CoV-2 in the United States, but this did not lead to descendant community spread. Instead, the Dane County outbreak was seeded by multiple later introductions, followed by limited community spread. In contrast, relatively few introductions in Milwaukee County led to extensive community spread. We present evidence for reduced viral spread in both counties, and limited viral transmission between counties, following the statewide Safer-at-Home public health order, which went into effect 25 March 2020. Our results suggest that early containment efforts suppressed the spread of SARS-CoV-2 within Wisconsin.

Chikungunya virus populations experience diversity- dependent attenuation and purifying intra-vector selection in Californian Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

Chikungunya virus (Togaviridae, Alphavirus; CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne global health threat that has been transmitted transiently in the southeastern United States. A primary CHIKV mosquito vector, Aedes aegypti, was recently established in the populous state of California, but the vector competence of Californian mosquitoes is unknown. Explosive CHIKV epidemics since 2004 have been associated with the acquisition of mosquito-adaptive mutations that enhance transmission by Ae. aegypti or Ae. albopictus. As a highly mutable RNA virus, CHIKV has the potential for extensive and rapid genetic diversification in vertebrate hosts and mosquito vectors. We previously demonstrated that expansion of CHIKV diversity in cell culture allows for greater adaptability to novel selection pressures, and that CHIKV fidelity variants are able to diversify more than wildtype (WT) CHIKV in mice. The evolution of intra-vector CHIKV populations and the correlation between CHIKV population diversity and infectivity and transmissibility in mosquitoes has not yet been studied. Here, we address these gaps in knowledge via experimental infection of Ae. aegypti from California with WT and fidelity variant CHIKV. We show that Ae. aegypti from California are highly competent vectors for CHIKV. We also report that CHIKV fidelity variants diversify more than WT in mosquitoes and exhibit attenuated infectivity at the level of the midgut. Furthermore, we demonstrate that intra-vector populations of CHIKV are subjected to purifying selection in mosquito bodies, and sequences of non-coding CHIKV regions are highly conserved. These findings will inform public health risk assessment for CHIKV in California and improve our understanding of constraints to CHIKV evolution in mosquitoes.

Chikungunya Virus Fidelity Variants Exhibit Differential Attenuation and Population Diversity in Cell Culture and Adult Mice.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a reemerging global health threat that produces debilitating arthritis in people. Like other RNA viruses with high mutation rates, CHIKV produces populations of genetically diverse genomes within a host. While several known CHIKV mutations influence disease severity in vertebrates and transmission by mosquitoes, the role of intrahost diversity in chikungunya arthritic disease has not been studied. In this study, high- and low-fidelity CHIKV variants, previously characterized by altered in vitro population mutation frequencies, were used to evaluate how intrahost diversity influences clinical disease, CHIKV replication, and antibody neutralization in immunocompetent adult mice inoculated in the rear footpads. Both high- and low-fidelity mutations were hypothesized to attenuate CHIKV arthritic disease, replication, and neutralizing antibody levels compared to wild-type (WT) CHIKV. Unexpectedly, high-fidelity mutants elicited more severe arthritic disease than the WT despite comparable CHIKV replication, whereas a low-fidelity mutant produced attenuated disease and replication. Serum antibody developed against both high- and low-fidelity CHIKV exhibited reduced neutralization of WT CHIKV. Using next-generation sequencing (NGS), the high-fidelity mutations were demonstrated to be genetically stable but produced more genetically diverse populations than WT CHIKV in mice. This enhanced diversification was subsequently reproduced after serial in vitro passage. The NGS results contrast with previously reported population diversities for fidelity variants, which focused mainly on part of the E1 gene, and highlight the need for direct measurements of mutation rates to clarify CHIKV fidelity phenotypes.IMPORTANCE CHIKV is a reemerging global health threat that elicits debilitating arthritis in humans. There are currently no commercially available CHIKV vaccines. Like other RNA viruses, CHIKV has a high mutation rate and is capable of rapid intrahost diversification during an infection. In other RNA viruses, virus population diversity associates with disease progression; however, potential impacts of intrahost viral diversity on CHIKV arthritic disease have not been studied. Using previously characterized CHIKV fidelity variants, we addressed whether CHIKV population diversity influences the severity of arthritis and host antibody response in an arthritic mouse model. Our findings show that CHIKV populations with greater genetic diversity can cause more severe disease and stimulate antibody responses with reduced neutralization of low-diversity virus populations in vitro The discordant high-fidelity phenotypes in this study highlight the complexity of inferring replication fidelity indirectly from population diversity.

Vector competence of Aedes aegypti, Culex tarsalis, and Culex quinquefasciatus from California for Zika virus.

Zika virus (ZIKV) has emerged since 2013 as a significant global human health threat following outbreaks in the Pacific Islands and rapid spread throughout South and Central America. Severe congenital and neurological sequelae have been linked to ZIKV infections. Assessing the ability of common mosquito species to transmit ZIKV and characterizing variation in mosquito transmission of different ZIKV strains is important for estimating regional outbreak potential and for prioritizing local mosquito control strategies for Aedes and Culex species. In this study, we evaluated the laboratory vector competence of Aedes aegypti, Culex quinquefasciatus, and Culex tarsalis that originated in areas of California where ZIKV cases in travelers since 2015 were frequent. We compared infection, dissemination, and transmission rates by measuring ZIKV RNA levels in cohorts of mosquitoes that ingested blood meals from type I interferon-deficient mice infected with either a Puerto Rican ZIKV strain from 2015 (PR15), a Brazilian ZIKV strain from 2015 (BR15), or an ancestral Asian-lineage Malaysian ZIKV strain from 1966 (MA66). With PR15, Cx. quinquefasciatus was refractory to infection (0%, N = 42) and Cx. tarsalis was infected at 4% (N = 46). No ZIKV RNA was detected in saliva from either Culex species 14 or 21 days post feeding (dpf). In contrast, Ae. aegypti developed infection rates of 85% (PR15; N = 46), 90% (BR15; N = 20), and 81% (MA66; N = 85) 14 or 15 dpf. Although MA66-infected Ae. aegypti showed higher levels of ZIKV RNA in mosquito bodies and legs, transmission rates were not significantly different across virus strains (P = 0.13, Fisher's exact test). To confirm infectivity and measure the transmitted ZIKV dose, we enumerated infectious ZIKV in Ae. aegypti saliva using Vero cell plaque assays. The expectorated plaque forming units PFU varied by viral strain: MA66-infected expectorated 13±4 PFU (mean±SE, N = 13) compared to 29±6 PFU for PR15-infected (N = 13) and 35±8 PFU for BR15-infected (N = 6; ANOVA, df = 2, F = 3.8, P = 0.035). These laboratory vector competence results support an emerging consensus that Cx. tarsalis and Cx. quinquefasciatus are not vectors of ZIKV. These results also indicate that Ae. aegypti from California are efficient laboratory vectors of ancestral and contemporary Asian lineage ZIKV.

Scented Sugar Baits Enhance Detection of St. Louis Encephalitis and West Nile Viruses in Mosquitoes in Suburban California.

Scented sugar baits deployed in California deserts detected early West Nile virus (WNV) transmission by mosquitoes, representing a potential improvement to conventional arbovirus surveillance that relies heavily on infection rates in mosquito pools. In this study, we expanded deployment of scented sugar baits into suburban Sacramento and Yolo (2015, 2016) and Riverside Counties (2016), California. The goal of the study was to determine whether scented sugar baits detect WNV and St. Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV) concurrent with mosquito infections in trapped pools in areas of high human density. Between 8 and 10% of sugar baits were WNV RNA positive in both study years across the three counties. In Riverside County, where SLEV re-emerged in 2015, 1% of sugar baits were SLEV positive in 2016. Rates of sugar bait positives were at least 100 times higher than infection rates in trapped mosquitoes in the same districts. The prevalence of sugar bait positives varied temporally and did not coincide with infections in mosquitoes collected at the same sites each week. WNV RNA positive sugar baits were detected up to 2 wk before and after concurrent surveillance detected infection in mosquito pools at the same sites. Sugar baits also detected WNV in Riverside County at locations where no WNV activity was detected in mosquito pools. Sugar baits generated between 0.8 and 1.2 WNV positives per $1,000 and can be more economical than carbon dioxide baited traps that produce 0.8 positives per $1,000. These results indicate that the sugar bait approach enhances conventional arbovirus surveillance in mosquitoes in suburban California.

Heartland Virus Neutralizing Antibodies in Vertebrate Wildlife, United States, 2009-2014.

Since its discovery in 2009, the tickborne Heartland virus (HRTV) has caused human illness in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Tennessee USA. To better assess the geographic distribution of HRTV, we used wildlife serology as an indicator. This retrospective evaluation determined that HRTV is widespread within the central and eastern United States.

Does common spatial origin promote the auditory grouping of temporally separated signal elements in grey treefrogs?

'Sequential integration' represents a form of auditory grouping in which temporally separated sounds produced by the same source are perceptually bound together over time into a coherent 'auditory stream'. In humans, sequential integration plays important roles in music and speech perception. In this study of the grey treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis), we took advantage of female selectivity for advertisement calls with conspecific pulse rates to investigate common spatial location as a cue for sequential integration. We presented females with two temporally interleaved pulse sequences with pulse rates of 25 pulses/s, which is half the conspecific pulse rate and more similar to that of H. versicolor, a syntopically breeding heterospecific. We tested the hypothesis that common spatial origin between the two pulse sequences would promote their integration into a coherent auditory stream with an attractive conspecific pulse rate. As the spatial separation between the speakers broadcasting the interleaved pulse sequences decreased from 180° to 0°, more females responded and females exhibited shorter response latencies and travelled shorter distances en route to a speaker. However, even in the 180° condition, most females (74%) still responded. Detailed video analyses revealed no evidence to suggest that patterns of female phonotaxis resulted from impaired abilities to localize sound sources in the spatially separated conditions. Together, our results suggest that females were fairly permissive of spatial incoherence between the interleaved pulses sequences and that common spatial origin may be only a relatively weak cue for sequential integration in grey treefrogs.