• James Weger-Lucarelli, Nisha K Duggal, Kristen Bullard-Feibelman, Milena Veselinovic, Hannah Romo, Chilinh Nguyen, Claudia Rückert, Aaron C Brault, Richard A Bowen, Mark Stenglein, Brian J Geiss, and Gregory D Ebel.
• Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
• J. Virol. 2017 Jan 1; 91 (1).

AbstractZika virus (ZIKV; family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus) is a rapidly expanding global pathogen that has been associated with severe clinical manifestations, including devastating neurological disease in infants. There are currently no molecular clones of a New World ZIKV available that lack significant attenuation, hindering progress toward understanding determinants of transmission and pathogenesis. Here we report the development and characterization of a novel ZIKV reverse genetics system based on a 2015 isolate from Puerto Rico (PRVABC59). We generated a two-plasmid infectious clone system from which infectious virus was rescued that replicates in human and mosquito cells with growth kinetics representative of wild-type ZIKV. Infectious clone-derived virus initiated infection and transmission rates in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes comparable to those of the primary isolate and displayed similar pathogenesis in AG129 mice. This infectious clone system provides a valuable resource to the research community to explore ZIKV molecular biology, vaccine development, antiviral development, diagnostics, vector competence, and disease pathogenesis.Copyright © 2016 American Society for Microbiology.

46 keywords...

hide…