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Viruses
Special Issues
Molecular Virus-Insect Interactions
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Molecular Virus-Insect Interactions

A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Insect Viruses".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 5725

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Li-Long Pan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Interests: transmission of plant viruses by insect vectors; insect vector-virus-plant tripartite interactions
Prof. Dr. Shu-Sheng Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Interests: insect vector-virus-plant tripartite interactions; biological invasion by alien insect pests; behavioural and chemical ecology; biological control and integrated pest management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In natural ecosystems, insects, the most abundant and diverse group of animals, are key players in a plethora of biological processes. Intimate interactions occur between insects and microorganisms such as viruses. For example, insects may serve as vectors of plant viruses that dictate virus spread and epidemiology. Insects may be infected by entomopathogenic viruses, which are potential agents in pest control. In addition, more recently, the insect-specific viruses that significantly modulate insect life history have been uncovered and functionally characterized. These exquisite virus–insect interactions not only contribute dramatically to the ecological function of insects, but also prompt changes to an array of elements in the ecosystem. Recent advances in this fascinating area of research hold promise for exciting discoveries in virology, entomology, plant sciences, molecular biology, and beyond, especially when facilitated by molecular approaches, and have also highlighted the versatility of virus–insect interactions. This Special Issue is devoted to the significant new developments in molecular virus–insect interactions, and both research and review articles are welcome.

Dr. Li-Long Pan
Prof. Dr. Shu-Sheng Liu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Viruses is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • plant virus–insect vector interactions
  • virus transmission
  • entomopathogenic virus–insect host interactions
  • insect-specific viruses
  • induction and suppression of immune responses

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 1633 KiB  
Article
Begomovirus Transmission to Tomato Plants Is Not Hampered by Plant Defenses Induced by Dicyphus hesperus Knight
by Saioa Legarrea, Angela Gabrielle LaTora, Alvin M. Simmons and Rajagopalbabu Srinivasan
Viruses 2024, 16(4), 587; https://doi.org/10.3390/v16040587 - 10 Apr 2024
Viewed by 328
Abstract
Plants can respond to insect infestation and virus infection by inducing plant defenses, generally mediated by phytohormones. Moreover, plant defenses alter host quality for insect vectors with consequences for the spread of viruses. In agricultural settings, other organisms commonly interact with plants, thereby [...] Read more.
Plants can respond to insect infestation and virus infection by inducing plant defenses, generally mediated by phytohormones. Moreover, plant defenses alter host quality for insect vectors with consequences for the spread of viruses. In agricultural settings, other organisms commonly interact with plants, thereby inducing plant defenses that could affect plant–virus–vector interactions. For example, plant defenses induced by omnivorous insects can modulate insect behavior. This study focused on tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), a plant virus of the family Geminiviridae and genus Begomovirus. It is transmitted in a persistent circulative manner by the whitefly Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), posing a global threat to tomato production. Mirids (Hemiptera: Miridae) are effective biological control agents of B. tabaci, but there is a possibility that their omnivorous nature could also interfere with the process of virus transmission. To test this hypothesis, this study first addressed to what extent the mirid bug Dicyphus hesperus Knight induces plant defenses in tomato. Subsequently, the impact of this plant–omnivore interaction on the transmission of TYLCV was evaluated. Controlled cage experiments were performed in a greenhouse setting to evaluate the impact of mirids on virus transmission and vector acquisition by B. tabaci. While we observed a reduced number of whiteflies settling on plants exposed to D. hesperus, the plant defenses induced by the mirid bug did not affect TYLCV transmission and accumulation. Additionally, whiteflies were able to acquire comparable amounts of TYLCV on mirid-exposed plants and control plants. Overall, the induction of plant defenses by D. hesperus did not influence TYLCV transmission by whiteflies on tomato. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Virus-Insect Interactions)
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13 pages, 1857 KiB  
Article
Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Alpha6 Contributes to Antiviral Immunity via IMD Pathway in Drosophila melanogaster
by Zhiying Wang, Xiaoju Lin, Wangpeng Shi and Chuan Cao
Viruses 2024, 16(4), 562; https://doi.org/10.3390/v16040562 - 03 Apr 2024
Viewed by 437
Abstract
Currently, insecticides that target nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) are widely used. Studies on the sublethal effects of insecticides have found that they can affect the amount of virus in insects. The mechanism by which insecticides affect insect virus load remain unclear. Here, we [...] Read more.
Currently, insecticides that target nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) are widely used. Studies on the sublethal effects of insecticides have found that they can affect the amount of virus in insects. The mechanism by which insecticides affect insect virus load remain unclear. Here, we show that nAChR targeting insecticide can affect viral replication through the immune deficiency (IMD) pathway. We demonstrate that a low dose of spinosad (6.8 ng/mL), acting as an antagonist to Drosophila melanogaster nicotinic acetylcholine receptor α6 (Dα6), significantly elevates Drosophila melanogaster sigmavirus (DMelSV) virus titers in adults of Drosophila melanogaster. Conversely, a high dose of spinosad (50 ng/mL), acting as an agonist to Dα6, substantially decreases viral load. This bidirectional regulation of virus levels is absent in Dα6-knockout flies, signifying the specificity of spinosad’s action through Dα6. Furthermore, the knockdown of Dα6 results in decreased expression of genes in the IMD pathway, including dredd, imd, relish, and downstream antimicrobial peptide genes AttA and AttB, indicating a reduced innate immune response. Subsequent investigations reveal no significant difference in viral titers between relish mutant flies and Dα6-relish double mutants, suggesting that the IMD pathway’s role in antiviral defense is dependent on Dα6. Collectively, our findings shed light on the intricate interplay between nAChR signaling and the IMD pathway in mediating antiviral immunity, highlighting the potential for nAChR-targeting compounds to inadvertently influence viral dynamics in insect hosts. This knowledge may inform the development of integrated pest management strategies that consider the broader ecological impact of insecticide use. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Virus-Insect Interactions)
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16 pages, 3220 KiB  
Article
D-Limonene Affects the Feeding Behavior and the Acquisition and Transmission of Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus by Bemisia tabaci
by Yan Wei, Liming Gao, Zhanhong Zhang, Kailong Li, Zhuo Zhang, Deyong Zhang, Jianbin Chen, Jing Peng, Yang Gao, Jiao Du, Shuo Yan, Xiaobin Shi and Yong Liu
Viruses 2024, 16(2), 300; https://doi.org/10.3390/v16020300 - 15 Feb 2024
Viewed by 988
Abstract
Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) is an important invasive pest transmitting plant viruses that are maintained through a plant–insect–plant cycle. Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) can be transmitted in a persistent manner by B. tabaci, which causes great losses to global agricultural production. [...] Read more.
Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) is an important invasive pest transmitting plant viruses that are maintained through a plant–insect–plant cycle. Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) can be transmitted in a persistent manner by B. tabaci, which causes great losses to global agricultural production. From an environmentally friendly, sustainable, and efficient point of view, in this study, we explored the function of d-limonene in reducing the acquisition and transmission of TYLCV by B. tabaci as a repellent volatile. D-limonene increased the duration of non-feeding waves and reduced the duration of phloem feeding in non-viruliferous and viruliferous whiteflies by the Electrical Penetration Graph technique (EPG). Additionally, after treatment with d-limonene, the acquisition and transmission rate of TYLCV was reduced. Furthermore, BtabOBP3 was determined as the molecular target for recognizing d-limonene by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), fluorescence competitive binding assays, and molecular docking. These results confirmed that d-limonene is an important functional volatile which showed a potential contribution against viral infections with potential implications for developing effective TYLCV control strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Virus-Insect Interactions)
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26 pages, 3721 KiB  
Article
The Viromes of Six Ecosystem Service Provider Parasitoid Wasps
by Gabriela B. Caldas-Garcia, Vinícius Castro Santos, Paula Luize Camargos Fonseca, João Paulo Pereira de Almeida, Marco Antônio Costa and Eric Roberto Guimarães Rocha Aguiar
Viruses 2023, 15(12), 2448; https://doi.org/10.3390/v15122448 - 16 Dec 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1153
Abstract
Parasitoid wasps are fundamental insects for the biological control of agricultural pests. Despite the importance of wasps as natural enemies for more sustainable and healthy agriculture, the factors that could impact their species richness, abundance, and fitness, such as viral diseases, remain almost [...] Read more.
Parasitoid wasps are fundamental insects for the biological control of agricultural pests. Despite the importance of wasps as natural enemies for more sustainable and healthy agriculture, the factors that could impact their species richness, abundance, and fitness, such as viral diseases, remain almost unexplored. Parasitoid wasps have been studied with regard to the endogenization of viral elements and the transmission of endogenous viral proteins that facilitate parasitism. However, circulating viruses are poorly characterized. Here, RNA viromes of six parasitoid wasp species are studied using public libraries of next-generation sequencing through an integrative bioinformatics pipeline. Our analyses led to the identification of 18 viruses classified into 10 families (Iflaviridae, Endornaviridae, Mitoviridae, Partitiviridae, Virgaviridae, Rhabdoviridae, Chuviridae, Orthomyxoviridae, Xinmoviridae, and Narnaviridae) and into the Bunyavirales order. Of these, 16 elements were described for the first time. We also found a known virus previously identified on a wasp prey which suggests viral transmission between the insects. Altogether, our results highlight the importance of virus surveillance in wasps as its service disruption can affect ecology, agriculture and pest management, impacting the economy and threatening human food security. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Virus-Insect Interactions)
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Review

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20 pages, 1287 KiB  
Review
Viral Co-Infections and Antiviral Immunity in Honey Bees
by Tristan Durand, Anne Bonjour-Dalmon and Eric Dubois
Viruses 2023, 15(5), 1217; https://doi.org/10.3390/v15051217 - 22 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2252
Abstract
Over the past few decades, honey bees have been facing an increasing number of stressors. Beyond individual stress factors, the synergies between them have been identified as a key factor in the observed increase in colony mortality. However, these interactions are numerous and [...] Read more.
Over the past few decades, honey bees have been facing an increasing number of stressors. Beyond individual stress factors, the synergies between them have been identified as a key factor in the observed increase in colony mortality. However, these interactions are numerous and complex and call for further research. Here, in line with our need for a systemic understanding of the threats that they pose to bee health, we review the interactions between honey bee viruses. As viruses are obligate parasites, the interactions between them not only depend on the viruses themselves but also on the immune responses of honey bees. Thus, we first summarise our current knowledge of the antiviral immunity of honey bees. We then review the interactions between specific pathogenic viruses and their interactions with their host. Finally, we draw hypotheses from the current literature and suggest directions for future research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Virus-Insect Interactions)
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