The Diversity And Distribution Of Viruses Associated Withculex Annulirostrismosquitoes From The Kimberley Region Of Western Australia

Metagenomics revealed an impressive breadth of previously unrecognized viruses. Here, we report the virome of theCulex annulirostrisSkuse mosquito, an important vector of pathogenic arboviruses in Australia. Mosquitoes were collected from three sites in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Unbiased high-throughput sequencing (HTS) revealed the presence of 16 novel viral sequences that share less than 90% identity with known viruses. None were closely related to pathogenic arboviruses. Viruses were distributed unevenly across sites, indicating a heterogeneousCx. annulirostrisvirome. Polymerase chain reaction assays confirmed HTS data and identified marked variation between the virus prevalence identified at each site.