Genome-wide identification of Aedes albopictus long noncoding RNAs and their association with dengue and Zika virus infection

Authors :Azlan, A (Azlan, Azali); Obeidat, SM (Obeidat, Sattam M.); Das, KT (Theva Das, Kumitaa); Yunus, MA (Yunus, Muhammad Amir); Azzam, G (Azzam, Ghows)

Titles of Publication :Genome-wide identification of Aedes albopictus long noncoding RNAs and their association with dengue and Zika virus infection

Journal Name :PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases

Quartile :Q1

Impact Factor :3.885

Link :https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008351

Description :Ae. albopictus is an important vector of arboviruses such as dengue and Zika viruses. Studies on virus-host interaction at gene expression and molecular level are crucial especially in devising methods to inhibit virus replication in Aedes mosquitoes. Previous reports have shown that, besides protein-coding genes, noncoding RNAs such as lncRNAs are also involved in virus-host interaction. In this study, we report a comprehensive catalog of novel lncRNA transcripts in the genome of Ae. albopictus. We also show that the expression of lncRNAs was altered upon infection with dengue and Zika. Additionally, depletion of certain lncRNAs resulted in increased replication of dengue and Zika; hence, suggesting potential association of lncRNAs in virus infection. Results of this study provide a new avenue to the investigation of mosquito-virus interactions, especially in the aspect of noncoding genes.