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Published on: September 13, 2018
Expanding the Medfly Virome: Viral Diversity, Prevalence, and sRNA Profiling in Mass-Reared and Field-Derived
Luis Hernández-Pelegrín1,2, Ángel Llopis-Giménez1, Cristina Maria Crava1
1Department of Genetics and University Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine (BIOTECMED), Universitat de València, 46100 Valencia, Spain.
Abstract:
The Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata, is an agricultural pest of a wide range of fruits. The advent of high-throughput sequencing has boosted the discovery of RNA viruses infecting insects. In this article, we aim to characterize the RNA virome and viral sRNA profile of medfly. By means of transcriptome mining, we expanded the medfly RNA virome to 13 viruses, including two novel positive ssRNA viruses and the first two novel dsRNA viruses reported for medfly. Our analysis across multiple laboratory-reared and field-collected medfly samples showed the presence of a core RNA virome comprised of Ceratitis capitata iflavirus 2 and Ceratitis capitata negev-like virus 1. Furthermore, field-collected flies showed a higher viral diversity in comparison to the laboratory-reared flies. Based on the small RNA sequencing, we detected small interfering RNAs mapping to all the viruses present in each sample, except for Ceratitis capitata nora virus. Although the identified RNA viruses do not cause obvious symptoms in medflies, the outcome of their interaction may still influence the medfly's fitness and ecology, becoming either a risk or an opportunity for mass-rearing and SIT applications.
Insights
This study expands the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly) RNA virome to 13 viruses, revealing a core virome and higher diversity in field populations. Viral small RNAs were detected, suggesting potential ecological impacts.
Area of Science:
- Entomology
- Virology
- Genomics
Background:
- The Mediterranean fruit fly ( *Ceratitis capitata* ) is a significant agricultural pest.
- High-throughput sequencing facilitates the discovery of insect RNA viruses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the RNA virome and viral small RNA (sRNA) profile of the medfly.
- To identify novel RNA viruses infecting *Ceratitis capitata*.
Main Methods:
- Transcriptome mining to identify RNA viruses.
- Small RNA sequencing to analyze viral sRNAs.
- Comparison of viral diversity in laboratory-reared versus field-collected medflies.
Main Results:
- Expanded the medfly RNA virome to 13 viruses, including two novel positive ssRNA and two novel dsRNA viruses.
- Identified a core RNA virome comprising *Ceratitis capitata* iflavirus 2 and *Ceratitis capitata* negev-like virus 1.
- Observed higher viral diversity in field-collected medflies compared to laboratory-reared ones.
- Detected small interfering RNAs mapping to most detected viruses, except *Ceratitis capitata* nora virus.
Conclusions:
- The identified RNA viruses do not cause apparent symptoms in medflies.
- Viral interactions may influence medfly fitness and ecology.
- Findings have implications for medfly mass-rearing and Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) applications.
