Life Sciences Commons^™

Evolutionary Enhancement Of Zika Virus Infectivity In Aedes Aegypti Mosquitoes, Yang Liu, Jianying Liu, Senyan Du, Cheng-Feng Qin, Penghua Wang, Pei-Yong Shi, Gong Cheng

NYMC Faculty Publications

Zika virus (ZIKV) remained obscure until the recent explosive outbreaks in French Polynesia (2013-2014) and South America (2015-2016). Phylogenetic studies have shown that ZIKV has evolved into African and Asian lineages. The Asian lineage of ZIKV was responsible for the recent epidemics in the Americas. However, the underlying mechanisms through which ZIKV rapidly and explosively spread from Asia to the Americas are unclear. Non-structural protein 1 (NS1) facilitates flavivirus acquisition by mosquitoes from an infected mammalian host and subsequently enhances viral prevalence in mosquitoes. Here we show that NS1 antigenaemia determines ZIKV infectivity in its mosquito vector Aedes aegypti, which …

The Female Urogynecological Microbiome: Determining Niche Specificity, Krystal Thomas-White

Dissertations

Contrary to dogma, urine is not sterile. Recent discoveries show that the female urinary bladder contains a unique microbiome,with differences in healthy and disease states. This female urinary microbiome (FUM) is distinguishable from vulvo-vaginal contamination; yet, only the few centimeters of the urethra separate these two niches. Recent studies show that the most common bladder organisms are Lactobacillus, Gardnerella, Streptococcus, Corynebacterium, and a diverse group of anaerobes, the same genera commonly found in the vagina. Thus, we asked if the bladder and vaginal microbiomes are interconnected.

Previous work suggests a link between these two niches. The vaginal tract of reproductive …