West Nile Virus Infection Alters Midgut Gene Expression in Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae)

Alterations in gene expression in the midgut of female Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus exposed to blood meals containing 6.8 logs plaque-forming units/mL of West Nile virus (WNV) were Studied by fluorescent differential display. Twenty-six different cDNAs exhibited reproducible differences after feeding on infected blood. Of these, 21 cDNAs showed an increase in expression, and 5 showed a decrease in expression as a result of WNV presence in the blood meal. GenBank database searches showed that one clone with increased expression, CQ G12A2, shares 94% identify with a leucine-rich repeat-containing protein from Cx. p. quinquefasciatus and 32% identify to Toll-like receptors from Aedes aegypti. We present the first cDNA clone isolated from female Cx. p. quinquefasciatus midgut tissue whose expression changes Oil exposure to WNV This cDNA represents it mosquito gene that is an excellent candidate for interacting, with WNV in Cx. p. quinquefasciatus and may play a role in disease transmission.