Christopher Ang

Expression of endogenous Anopheles gambiae microRNAs using an Anopheles gambiae densovirus (AgDNV) intronic expression system - Parasites & Vectors Background Anopheles gambiae densovirus (AgDNV) is a highly species-specific parvovirus that reaches high titers in adult Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes with few transcriptomic effects and minimal signi...

Very happy to have @entomososwin.bsky.social's thesis work finally published! Becky has been having an incredible month!

parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

Fig. 1. Mosquitoes collected from September 2020 to April 2022. (a) Map of mosquito sampling locations. Each sampling location, shown as dark blue polygons, contains one to nine trapping sites. Trapping sites with QBV detected are shown as orange diamonds, while sampling locations with QBV detections are in bold. (b) Temporal distribution of mosquitoes collected.

Spatiotemporal prevalence and characterization of the lineage I insect-specific flavivirus, Quang Binh virus, isolated from Culex gelidus mosquitoes in Singapore. Published #OpenAccess and fee-free in #JGenVirol using a #PublishAndRead agreement:
doi.org/10.1099/jgv....

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This work wouldn’t have been possible without the co-authors, many of whom have become personal friends along the way. Special mention to Setoh for being the best mentor I could ask for. I’ll never forget our high-fives and beer pints after successful experiments!

Spatiotemporal prevalence and characterization of the lineage I insect-specific flavivirus, Quang Binh virus, isolated from Culex gelidus mosquitoes in Singapore Insect-specific flaviviruses (ISFs) are a group of orthoflaviviruses that can replicate efficiently in arthropods but are unable to replicate in vertebrate hosts. This contrasts with medically important orthoflaviviruses, such as dengue virus (DENV) and West Nile virus (WNV). Using the established monoclonal antibody against viral RNA intermediates in cell assay, we report the first isolation of an ISF, Quang Binh virus (QBV), in Singapore from three pools of Culex gelidus mosquitoes. To determine the spatiotemporal prevalence of QBV, a total of 17,070 mosquitoes, represented as 721 pools, were screened using a QBV-specific reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR assay, revealing 36 QBV-positive pools of mosquitoes detected mainly along the northern coastal regions of Singapore. Repeated detections over 12 months in a north-western nature reserve suggest local stable establishment of the virus. Phylogenetic and molecular analyses show that QBV sequences from the Singapore group together with other Southeast Asian sequences and that Cx. gelidus-derived sequences are phylogenetically distinct from those derived from Culex tritaeniorhynchus. We also present in vitro evidence that QBV is able to suppress DENV2 and WNVKUN in C6/36 cells by 2.9 logs and 1.8 logs, respectively. This report represents the first known spatiotemporal study of an ISF and highlights QBV’s potential as a biological control against medically important orthoflaviviruses.

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Our findings add to the growing story that insect-specific flaviviruses, though harmless to humans, might help defend us against more dangerous viruses—and we’re diving deeper into that in the
@peters-virus-lab.bsky.social!

Read the full story here: doi.org/10.1099/jgv....

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Pre-existing QBV infection in mosquito (C6/36) cells significantly reduced subsequent dengue and West Nile virus replication — classic superinfection exclusion.

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Phylogenetic analysis shows that QBV from Singapore groups together with Southeast Asian strains. Interestingly, QBV isolates from Cx. gelidus were phylogenetically distinct from those derived from Cx. tritaeniorhynchus! But wait, there's more...

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QBV, an insect-specific flavivirus, was detected in multiple locations across Singapore. However, we consistently detected it in a northern nature reserve (Kranji Marshes) across 12 months. Stable local establishment? We think so!

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We isolated Quang Binh virus (QBV) from Culex gelidus and Sarawak virus from Coquillettidia crassipes.
Both are insect-specific viruses — and this is their first known isolation in Singapore!

🚨 We found some cool viruses in Singapore!! 🚨
Over 18 months, we screened 17,070 🦟mosquitoes across 17 locations in Singapore, uncovering 🦠viruses that could shape future biocontrol strategies against dengue and other arboviruses!

🔗: doi.org/10.1099/jgv....

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We are not shy about our favourite DNA polymerase in the @peters-virus-lab.bsky.social Special mention goes out to Q5.

Differential effect of acute versus persistent insect-specific flavivirus infection on superinfection exclusion of West Nile, Zika and chikungunya viruses in RNAi-competent and -deficient mosquito cel... Millions of people are annually infected by mosquito-transmitted arboviruses including dengue virus (DENV), West Nile virus (WNV), Zika virus (ZIKV) a…

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Research wanted: S’pore experts on the hunt for diseases that can spread from animals to humans NParks is calling for research proposals that aim to fortify Singapore against outbreaks of zoonotic diseases. Read more at straitstimes.com.

My honours student-turned-friend just published a great article on virology and One Health in Singapore’s local paper. So proud of her hard work—and even happier she made it through without post-laboratory stress disorder!

www.straitstimes.com/singapore/en...

Eilat virus isolated from Culex univittatus mosquitoes from the Namibian Zambezi Region influences in vitro superinfection with alpha- and flaviviruses in a virus-species-dependent manner The genus Alphavirus harbors arboviruses of great concern, such as the Chikungunya virus and the equine encephalitis viruses. Transmission of pathogenic alphaviruses by mosquitoes could be influenced ...

journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

Hello from the @peters-virus-lab.bsky.social 2024! Beyond privileged to be part of this group. Surrounded by great people doing great science.

Second last in the arbovirus session is our first #alphavirus talk of the session from Jennifer Hyde (University of Washington) talking about the Contribution of viral RNA structures to cellular tropism and epizootic emergence of alphaviruses #AVS12

To round out our Arbovirus session, Mikaela Bell (UQ) is giving us a primer on the ISVac platform Recombinant Alphavirus Based On The Australian Insect-Specific Yada Yada Virus. An incredible story of recovering a virus from metagenomics and then spinning it out to a vaccine platform. #AVS12

Our plenary speaker kicking off the Arbovirology session A/Prof Jody Hobson-Peters talking about the insect specific alphavirus (Yada yada virus) and insect specific flaviviruses (Binjari virus) and using reverse genetics approaches to generate vaccines and diagnostics. #AVS12