Extensive Diversity of RNA Viruses in Australian Ticks

Harvey, Erin; Rose, Karrie; Eden, John‐Sebastian; Lo, Nathan; Abeyasuriya, Thilanka; Shī, Mǎng; Doggett, Stephen L.; Holmes, Edward C.

doi:10.1128/jvi.01358-18

Cited by 132 publications

(191 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

180

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…RNA was extracted from ticks as described previously [33]. Briefly, ticks were washed in ethanol and homogenised in lysis buffer using a TissueRuptor (Qiagen) and RNA was extracted using the RNeasy plus mini kit (Qiagen).…”

Section: Rna Library Construction and Sequencingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Sustained RNA virome diversity in Antarctic penguins and their ticks

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite its isolation and extreme climate, Antarctica is home to diverse fauna and associated microorganisms. It has been proposed that the most iconic Antarctic animal, the penguin, experiences low pathogen pressure, accounting for their disease susceptibility in foreign environments. There is, however, a limited understanding of virome diversity in Antarctic species, the extent of in situ virus evolution, or how it relates to that in other geographic regions. To assess whether penguins have limited microbial diversity we determined the RNA viromes of three species of penguins and their ticks sampled on the Antarctic peninsula. Using total RNA sequencing we identified 107 viral species, comprising likely penguin associated viruses (n = 13), penguin diet and microbiome associated viruses (n = 82), and tick viruses (n = 8), two of which may have the potential to infect penguins. Notably, the level of virome diversity revealed in penguins is comparable to that seen in Australian waterbirds, including many of the same viral families. These data run counter to the idea that penguins are subject to lower pathogen pressure. The repeated detection of specific viruses in Antarctic penguins also suggests that rather than being simply spill-over hosts, these animals may act as key virus reservoirs.

show abstract

Section: Rna Library Construction and Sequencingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Viruses were annotated as described previously [32,33]. Viruses with full-length genomes, or incomplete genomes possessing the full-length RNA-dependant RNA polymerase (RdRp) gene, were used for phylogenetic analysis.…”

Section: Virus Genome Annotation and Phylogenetic Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustained RNA virome diversity in Antarctic penguins and their ticks

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Members of this group have a similar genomic structure with two ORFs spanning 3 to 4.2 kb. This group includes viruses and viral sequences described in other acarine species like the deer tick (Ixodes scapularis) and the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis) (Harvey et al 2019;Levin et al 2016;Levin et al 2019;Pettersson et al 2017;Sadeghi et al 2018;Shi et al 2016;Webster et al 2016) and not much information about their incidence and replication in a specific host has been reported. Nevertheless, given the mentioned similarities and the replicative activity of these viruses (see below), these V. destructor associated viruses could define a new family of +ssRNA viruses infecting invertebrates.…”

Section: New Viruses Associated To V Destructormentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of new viruses specific to the honey bee mite Varroa destructor

Herrero

Coll

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Large-scale colony losses among managed Western honey bees have become a serious threat to the beekeeping industry in the last decade. There are multiple factors contributing to these losses but the impact of Varroa destructor parasitism is by far the most important, along with the contribution of some pathogenic viruses vectored by the mite. So far, more than 20 viruses have been identified infecting the honey bee, most of them RNA viruses. They may be maintained either as covert infections or causing severe symptomatic infections, compromising the viability of the colony. In silico analysis of available transcriptomic data obtained from mites collected in the USA and Europe as well as additional investigation with new samples collected locally allowed the description of three novel RNA viruses. Our results showed that these viruses were widespread among samples and that they were present in the mites and in the bees but with differences in the relative abundance and prevalence. However, we have obtained strong evidence showing that these three viruses were able to replicate in the mite, but not in the bee, suggesting that they are selectively infecting the mite. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of Varroa-specific viruses, which open the door to future applications that might help controlling the mite through biological control approaches.

show abstract

“…Despite the importance of the ectoparasite-vector system in virus transmission and evolution, little is known about the composition of virus communities in both host types. Metagenomic studies of arthropod vector species such as mosquitoes and ticks have revealed an unexpectedly rich virus diversity, most of which likely do not infect vertebrates (Harvey, Rose, Eden, Lo, et al, 2019; Shi et al, 2017). Hence, it is not known what proportion of the viruses present in invertebrates pass to vertebrates and vice versa, although such information is central to understanding the evolution of vector-borne transmission and determining whether some viruses have more liberal host preferences than others.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The advent of bulk RNA sequencing (“meta-transcriptomics”) has revolutionized our perception of viral diversity and host range (Shi et al, 2016; Shi, Zhang, & Holmes, 2018), revealing large numbers of seemingly benign viruses (Shi, Lin, et al, 2018). The invertebrate meta-transcriptomic studies undertaken to date include various species of ectoparasite, such as mosquitos, ticks and fleas, revealing abundant and complex viromes (Harvey, Rose, Eden, Lawrence, et al, 2019; Harvey, Rose, Eden, Lo, et al, 2019; Shi et al, 2017). Herein, by comparing the viromes of Australian wild rabbits alongside associated rabbit fleas and sympatric flies, we present the first joint study of virome composition in vertebrates and their associated ectoparasites.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Limited overlap in RNA virome composition among rabbits and their ectoparasites reveals barriers to virus transmission

Mahar

Shī

Hall

et al. 2019

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ectoparasites play an important role in virus transmission among vertebrates. However, little is known about the extent and composition of viruses that pass between invertebrates and vertebrates. In Australia, flies and fleas support the mechanical transmission of viral biological controls against wild rabbits - rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) and myxoma virus. We compared virome structure and composition in rabbits and these associated ectoparasites, sequencing total RNA from multiple tissues and gut contents of wild rabbits, fleas collected from these rabbits, and flies trapped sympatrically. Meta-transcriptomic analyses identified 50 novel viruses from multiple RNA virus families. Rabbits and their ectoparasites were characterised by markedly different viromes: although viral contigs from six virus families/groups were found in both rabbits and ectoparasites, none were vertebrate-associated. A novel calicivirus and picornavirus detected in rabbit caecal content were vertebrate-specific: the newly detected calicivirus was distinct from known rabbit caliciviruses, while the novel picornavirus clustered with the Sapeloviruses. Several Picobirnaviridae were also identified, falling in diverse phylogenetic positions suggestive of an association with co-infecting bacteria. The remaining viruses found in rabbits, and all those from ectoparasites, were likely associated with invertebrates, plants and co-infecting endosymbionts. While no full genomes of vertebrate-associated viruses were detected in ectoparasites, suggestive of major barriers to biological transmission with active replication, small numbers of reads from rabbit astrovirus, RHDV and other lagoviruses were present in flies. This supports the role of flies in the mechanical transmission of RHDV and implies that they may assist the spread of astroviruses.

show abstract

Extensive Diversity of RNA Viruses in Australian Ticks

Cited by 132 publications

References 44 publications

Sustained RNA virome diversity in Antarctic penguins and their ticks

Sustained RNA virome diversity in Antarctic penguins and their ticks

Identification of new viruses specific to the honey bee mite Varroa destructor

Limited overlap in RNA virome composition among rabbits and their ectoparasites reveals barriers to virus transmission

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About