| Summary: | Mayaro (MAYV) is an emerging arthropod-borne virus belonging to the Alphavirus genus of the <i>Togaviridae</i> family. Although forest-dwelling <i>Haemagogus</i> mosquitoes have been considered as its main vector, the virus has also been detected in circulating <i>Aedes ssp</i> mosquitoes. Here we assess the susceptibility of <i>Aedes aegypti</i> and <i>Aedes albopictus</i> to infection with MAYV and their innate immune response at an early stage of infection. <i>Aedes albopictus</i> was more susceptible to infection with MAYV than <i>Ae. aegypti.</i> Analysis of transcript levels of twenty immunity-related genes by real-time PCR in the midgut of both mosquitoes infected with MAYV revealed increased expression of several immune genes, including CLIP-domain serine proteases, the anti-microbial peptides defensin A, E, cecropin E, and the virus inducible gene. The regulation of certain genes appeared to be <i>Aedes</i> species-dependent. Infection of <i>Ae. aegypti</i> with MAYV resulted in increased levels of myeloid differentiation2-related lipid recognition protein (<i>ML26A</i>) transcripts, as compared to <i>Ae. albopictus</i>. Increased expression levels of thio-ester-containing protein 22 (<i>TEP22</i>) and Niemann−Pick type C1 (<i>NPC1</i>) gene transcripts were observed in infected <i>Ae. albopictus</i>, but not <i>Ae. aegypti</i>. The differences in these gene expression levels during MAYV infection could explain the variation in susceptibility observed in both mosquito species.
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