# Gene delivery in mosquitos with a vesicular stomatitis virus vector

## TL;DR

Researchers developed a virus-based system to deliver genes into mosquitoes, enabling studies of gene function without harming the insects.

## Contribution

A novel vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) vector system for efficient and controllable gene overexpression in mosquitoes is introduced.

## Key findings

- VSV can infect mosquitoes through multiple routes without affecting their development.
- VSV allows modulation of target gene expression levels by altering insertion sites.
- VSV-mediated gene delivery works across multiple insect orders including Diptera, Lepidoptera, and Coleoptera.

## Abstract

Gain- and loss-of-function techniques are essential for comprehensive investigation of gene function. In mosquitoes, effective loss-of-function (LOF) methods such as RNA interference and gene knockout are available. However, convenient and practical methodologies for gain-of-function (GOF) are currently lacking. Here, we developed the vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) vector as a GOF delivery system, which efficiently delivers target genes in mosquito Aedes aegypti without affect their fitness. Importantly, by tactically altering the insertion site of target genes within the VSV vector, we can control the relative levels of transcription. This VSV-mediated method resulted in the corresponding phenotypic changes in mosquitoes overexpressing target genes compared to controls. Additionally, we discovered that VSV could infect various orders of insects, including fruit flies (Diptera), fall armyworms (Lepidoptera), and beetles (Coleoptera), highlighting its potential as a versatile gene delivery platform across insect species.

•VSV infects mosquitoes via multi-routes without impairing ontogenetic development•VSV serves as an efficient and versatile platform for GOF studies in mosquitoes•Target gene expression levels can be modulated by VSV insertion sites•The VSV platform enables exogenous gene expression in multiple insect orders

VSV infects mosquitoes via multi-routes without impairing ontogenetic development

VSV serves as an efficient and versatile platform for GOF studies in mosquitoes

Target gene expression levels can be modulated by VSV insertion sites

The VSV platform enables exogenous gene expression in multiple insect orders

Biological sciences; Neuroscience; Virology; Genetic engineering