Evolutionary history of Jamestown Canyon virus reveals complex multi-vector ecology.
| Title: | Evolutionary history of Jamestown Canyon virus reveals complex multi-vector ecology. |
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| Authors: | Bourgikos E; Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510, USA. Electronic address: ellie.bourgikos@yale.edu.; Dellicour S; Spatial Epidemiology Laboratory (SpELL), Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels 1050, Belgium; Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Transplantation, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium.; Lemey P; Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Transplantation, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium.; Feriancek NM; Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.; Bransfield AB; Center for Vector Biology and Zoonotic Diseases, Department of Entomology, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.; Breban MI; Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.; Misencik MJ; Center for Vector Biology and Zoonotic Diseases, Department of Entomology, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.; Petruff TA; Center for Vector Biology and Zoonotic Diseases, Department of Entomology, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.; Shepard JJ; Center for Vector Biology and Zoonotic Diseases, Department of Entomology, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.; Andreadis TG; Center for Vector Biology and Zoonotic Diseases, Department of Entomology, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.; Anderson JF; Center for Vector Biology and Zoonotic Diseases, Department of Entomology, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.; Ngo KA; The Arbovirus Laboratory, New York State Department of Health, Wadsworth Center, Slingerlands, NY 12159, USA.; Maffei JG; The Arbovirus Laboratory, New York State Department of Health, Wadsworth Center, Slingerlands, NY 12159, USA.; Dupuis AP; The Arbovirus Laboratory, New York State Department of Health, Wadsworth Center, Slingerlands, NY 12159, USA.; Rich SM; New England Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, USA; Department of Microbiology, College of Natural Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, USA.; Xu G; New England Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, USA; Department of Microbiology, College of Natural Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, USA.; Sakolsky G; Cape Cod Mosquito Control, Yarmouthport, MA 02675, USA.; Price KJ; Division of Vector Management, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Harrisburg, PA 17101, USA.; Metzger ML; Division of Vector Management, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Harrisburg, PA 17101, USA.; Suchard MA; Department of Biostatistics, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Biomathematics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.; Lopes R; Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Public Health Modeling Unit, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.; Gámbaro F; Spatial Epidemiology Laboratory (SpELL), Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels 1050, Belgium.; Carlson CJ; Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Public Health Modeling Unit, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.; Baele G; Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Transplantation, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium.; Ciota AT; The Arbovirus Laboratory, New York State Department of Health, Wadsworth Center, Slingerlands, NY 12159, USA; Department of Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York, Albany School of Public Health, Albany, NY 12237, USA.; Vogels CBF; Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.; Hill V; Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Transplantation, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium.; Armstrong PM; Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Center for Vector Biology and Zoonotic Diseases, Department of Entomology, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.; Grubaugh ND; Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Public Health Modeling Unit, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA. Electronic address: nathan.grubaugh@yale.edu. |
| Source: | Current biology : CB [Curr Biol] 2026 May 04; Vol. 36 (9), pp. 2343-2356.e7. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Apr 22. |
| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Journal Info: | Publisher: Cell Press Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 9107782 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1879-0445 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 09609822 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Curr Biol Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: Cambridge, MA : Cell Press; Original Publication: London, UK : Current Biology Ltd., c1991- |
| MeSH Terms: | Mosquito Vectors*/virology ; Encephalitis Virus, California*/genetics ; Encephalitis Virus, California*/physiology ; Culicidae*/virology ; Encephalitis, California*/transmission ; Encephalitis, California*/virology ; Biological Evolution*; Animals ; Connecticut ; Phylogeny ; Genome, Viral ; Evolution, Molecular |
| Abstract: | Jamestown Canyon virus (JCV) is a historically understudied mosquito-borne virus of increasing concern in North America. We generated 658 whole-genome JCV sequences from northeast United States, including 84% (500/597) of all JCV-positive mosquitoes detected in Connecticut from 1997 to 2022. Then, we applied phylodynamic methods to demonstrate how mosquito phenology structures the maintenance and evolution of JCV. Our phylogenetic analyses estimate that JCV was introduced in the Northeast by at least the early 1700s, and the primary introductions of lineages A and B into Connecticut occurred during the mid-1800s to mid-1900s. Further, we estimate that JCV evolves at a rate of ∼3 × 10-5 substitutions per site per year (s/s/y), making it one of the slowest-evolving known RNA viruses, because the virus spends ∼10 months per year in evolutionary stasis while overwintering in mosquito eggs. To investigate ecological drivers of JCV spread in Connecticut, we paired discrete trait and continuous phylogeographic reconstructions with mosquito surveillance data. We estimate that JCV has a low diffusion rate of ∼30-60 km2/year, which is more similar to slow-moving tick-borne viruses than to other mosquito-borne viruses. We found that univoltine Aedes mosquitoes were likely to maintain the virus across years through overwintering in eggs, accounting for its slow evolution and dispersal, while multivoltine mosquitoes contributed to periodic bursts of spatial diffusion and amplification within seasons. We demonstrate the utility of dense sequencing and phylodynamics to disentangle complex transmission cycles, offering a framework for rapidly advancing our evolutionary and ecological knowledge of understudied viruses.; (Copyright © 2026 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests. |
| Comments: | Update of: bioRxiv. 2026 Jan 10:2026.01.09.698726. doi: 10.64898/2026.01.09.698726.. (PMID: 41542553) |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Jamestown Canyon virus; arbovirus; disease ecology; mosquitoes; phylogenetics; sequencing; virus evolution |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260423 Date Completed: 20260505 Latest Revision: 20260505 |
| Update Code: | 20260506 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.cub.2026.03.076 |
| PMID: | 42025175 |
| Database: | MEDLINE |
Journal Article