Comparative in-Silico Analysis of Flaviviruses Transmitted by Aedes Mosquitoes: Genomic and Proteomic Studies

Abstract Dengue virus, Yellow fever virus and Zika virus are the arboviruses transmitted by the common arthropod vector Aedes aegypti. These three viruses belong to Flaviviridae family and show mild to severe infections in infected individuals all over the world. Approximately 400 million people are infected with Flaviviridae and more than 1 million die every year. In spite of their existence for more than a decade, there are still gaps at molecular level in understanding the pathogenesis, transmission of flaviviruses, the biology of virus-vector and the virus-host interactions. In the present study, bio computational analysis has been done on both the genomics and proteomics data of the structural and non-structural proteins of these 3 viruses. The high conservation of the fusion loop in EDII underscores its potential as a universal antiviral target, whereas the divergence in EDIII supports its use in virus-specific diagnosis and vaccine designing. The stem and transmembrane regions of EDI demonstrate structural conservation, suggesting their suitability for broad-spectrum therapeutic strategies. In the transmembrane domain, the motif SGVWTMKIGIG in ZIKV replaces SGVWTMKIGIILT in DENV, indicating length and hydrophobicity differences that may affect E protein anchoring or membrane fluidity. The interaction of DENV and ZIKV EDIII with 4–5 receptors on human host indicates strong transmission and virulence capacity of the virus by any means, compared to presence of only 1 or 2 receptors for YFV which made it easy for the researchers to develop vaccine at a much early stage and also is efficient to provide immunity against YFV.