Molecular dialogue between Orthonairovirus and tick: RNA-protein interactome of Hazara virus, a BSL2 model of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever virus, in <i>Hyalomma</i> cells

Abstract Climate change and ecosystem collapse promote geographic expansion of vector-borne diseases, as witnessed by the recent incursions into Spain of the virus responsible for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHFV). CCHFV is maintained in a tick-vertebrate cycle, principally involving ticks of the genus Hyalomma . Faced with the spread of Hyalomma ticks, and therefore the threat of a natural introduction of CCHFV into Western Europe, appropriate surveillance tools and control measures need to be implemented. It is both within and by the tick that CCHFV is maintained and spread in the environment. Despite prolonged portage of the virus, the tick is not overtly affected by CHFV infection. One of the prerequisites in conceiving control strategies is to understand the molecular mechanisms that intimately link the virus to its arthropod host. Despite the central role of the tick in the biology of CCHFV, these mechanisms are ill-defined, owing in part to the constraints associated with handling CCHFV-infected ticks in biosafety level 4 containment. In this study, we established the network of interactions between the S segment of the RNA genome Hazara virus (HAZV), a BSL-2 model of CCHFV, and Hyalomma proteins using ChIRP-MS technique. We identified 166 tick proteins, 21 of which have been described as RNA-binding proteins. Gene ontology and pathway enrichment analyses revealed that the S segment RNA interacts predominantly with mitochondrial proteins that belong to various mitochondrial metabolic pathways.