Understanding mosquito-virus interactions at the single-cell level – MOSQUIMMUNO

Epidemics caused by viruses transmitted by mosquitoes to humans, such as dengue fever, are an increasing burden for global health. In the absence of drugs and efficient vaccines, innovative strategies based on the release of lab-engineered mosquitoes that are unable to transmit diseases have gained momentum. However, they require a deep knowledge of interaction dynamics between mosquitoes and viruses, which remain poorly understood. An important knowledge gap consists of understanding why certain mosquitoes are very efficient at replicating and transmitting viruses, while others are not. I propose to address this question using an innovative approach. To decipher the mechanisms that allow efficient virus infection and transmission in mosquitoes, I propose to use single-cell transcriptomics to study mosquito gut cells, which have a key role in allowing virus entry in the mosquito’s body. This work will shed light the mechanisms underlying the matchmaking between a virus and a mosquito.