Metagenomic profiling unveils the viral diversity in field-collected Aedes larvae from Central India employing nanopore sequencing

Several arboviruses including Dengue, Chikungunya, Zika, West Nile and Japanese encephalitis viruses are emerging and re-emerging in many parts of the world over last two decades. Thus, environmental surveillance of the mosquito borne viruses employing latest next generation sequencing technology could enhance our comprehension about an impending outbreak, thereby, providing opportunity for timely intervention. In this study, Aedes larvae were collected from different locations of Gwalior, Central India, cultured and grown to adult and were screened utilizing metagenomic workflow in Oxford Nanopore platform. The results produced sufficient and valuable insights through demonstration of divergence of these mosquitoes’ virome. Viral families associated with Myoviridae, Mimiviridae, Iridoviridae, Bunyaviridae, Flaviviridae, Mesonivirdae etc. were prevailing across the pools, varying in relative abundance. Viruses like Betabaculovirus, Mimivirus, Shamonda virus were reported in most pools in high abundance. Viral analysis leads to Phasi Charoen-like virus (PCLV), Nam Dinh virus (NDiV), Hubei mosquito virus (HMV), Wenzhou sobemo-like virus 4 (WSLV) findings across samples. This work reports the first successful metagenomic profiling of field-collected mosquitoes from Gwalior, Central India. Consequently, this technique might be employed to wide spectrum investigation of field mosquitoes, aiding in public health awareness about currently circulating viruses as a preparedness against future epidemic.