RNA virus diversity and prevalence in field and laboratory populations of melon fly throughout its distribution

Kumar Pradhan, Sanjay; Morrow, Jennifer L.; Sharpe, Stephen R.; Karuppannasamy, Ashok; Ramasamy, Ellango; Bynakal, Shivanna; Maligeppagol, Manamohan; Ramasamy, Asokan; Riegler, Markus

doi:10.1016/j.jip.2024.108117

Cited by 2 publications

References 72 publications

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A Vertically and Horizontally Transmitted RNA Virus Facilitates Egg Hatching of a Parasitoid Wasp

Izraeli,

Wodowski,

Mozes-Daube

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Information on the impacts of RNA viruses inhabiting insect hosts is scarce. Here, we studied the effects of a recently described RNA virus, termed AnvRV, on its host, the parasitoid waspAnagyrus vladimiri(Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), an important natural enemy of mealybug pests. AnvRV was found to be maternally transmitted with very high fidelity but not paternally. Additionally, AnvRV was horizontally transferred at an efficiency of 23% from infected to uninfected wasp larvae that develop together inside the same mealybug host (superparasitism). To test the effects of AnvRV onA. vladimiri, the virus horizontal transmission was utilized to establish AnvRV-infected (RV+) and uninfected (RV-) isogenic wasp lines, a method rarely applied and novel to RNA virus-parasitoid systems. Longevity, developmental time, sex ratio, and fecundity of RV+ and RV-A. vladimiriwere very similar. Nonetheless, the egg hatching rate of RV+ wasps was markedly and significantly higher than that of RV- wasps, especially in hosts that were not superparasitized. Additionally, less encapsulation marks (the main form of mealybug immunity) were found around RV+ eggs inside parasitized mealybug hosts. Taken together, the data suggest that AnvRV is affecting the mealybugs' physiology in a way that improves first stages of wasps' development. These findings present a rare example of interaction between an RNA virus and a parasitoid and may provide a tool for the improvement of biological control efforts.

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A Vertically and Horizontally Transmitted RNA Virus Facilitates Egg Hatching of a Parasitoid Wasp

Izraeli,

Wodowski,

Mozes-Daube

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Host range of a parasitoid wasp is linked to host susceptibility to its mutualistic viral symbiont

Coffman,

Kauwe,

Gillette

et al. 2024

Molecular Ecology

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Parasitoid wasps are one of the most species‐rich groups of animals on Earth, due to their ability to successfully develop as parasites of nearly all types of insects. Unlike most known parasitoid wasps that specialize towards one or a few host species, Diachasmimorpha longicaudata is a generalist that can survive within multiple genera of tephritid fruit fly hosts, including many globally important pest species. Diachasmimorpha longicaudata has therefore been widely released to suppress pest populations as part of biological control efforts in tropical and subtropical agricultural ecosystems. In this study, we investigated the role of a mutualistic poxvirus in shaping the host range of D. longicaudata across three genera of agricultural pest species: two of which are permissive hosts for D. longicaudata parasitism and one that is a nonpermissive host. We found that permissive hosts Ceratitis capitata and Bactrocera dorsalis were highly susceptible to manual virus injection, displaying rapid virus replication and abundant fly mortality. However, the nonpermissive host Zeugodacus cucurbitae largely overcame virus infection, exhibiting substantially lower mortality and no virus replication. Investigation of transcriptional dynamics during virus infection demonstrated hindered viral gene expression and limited changes in fly gene expression within the nonpermissive host compared with the permissive species, indicating that the host range of the viral symbiont may influence the host range of D. longicaudata wasps. These findings also reveal that viral symbiont activity may be a major contributor to the success of D. longicaudata as a generalist parasitoid species and a globally successful biological control agent.

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RNA virus diversity and prevalence in field and laboratory populations of melon fly throughout its distribution

Cited by 2 publications

References 72 publications

A Vertically and Horizontally Transmitted RNA Virus Facilitates Egg Hatching of a Parasitoid Wasp

A Vertically and Horizontally Transmitted RNA Virus Facilitates Egg Hatching of a Parasitoid Wasp

Host range of a parasitoid wasp is linked to host susceptibility to its mutualistic viral symbiont

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