Link to Pubmed [PMID] – 10950972
J. Gen. Virol. 2000 Sep;81(Pt 9):2161-6
Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is an arbovirus of the BUNYAVIRIDAE: family, causing recurrent disease outbreaks in Africa. Natural vertebrate hosts include cattle and humans. Several mosquito species belonging to the AEDES: and CULEX: genera act as vectors of this phlebovirus. To test whether pathogen-derived resistance against RVFV could be induced by expressing genomic sequences in mosquito cells, as has been shown for La Crosse and dengue 2 viruses, we generated various recombinant Semliki Forest viruses expressing the S segment (or its genes) in the genomic or antigenomic sense. Expression of the N but not the NSs gene interfered with the production of RVFV in mosquito cells and this phenomenon was RNA- but not protein-dependent. These results raise questions on the molecular mechanisms involved in virus resistance.