Special Issue "Insect Viruses and Pest Management 2.0"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2021.

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Miguel López-Ferber
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Industrial Environmental Engineering, IMT Mines Ales, Ales, Occitanie, France
Interests: baculovirus genetic diversity; virus–host interactions; biological control with viruses
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The interest in the last Special Issue on this topic prompted us to re-open the subject for a new Issue. Most countries are making attempts to reduce the amount of chemical pesticides they use, but the number of tools available for controlling insect pests is still limited. Insects are major pests not only on agricultural crops but also on domestic animals and humans. Viruses offer alternatives for safe and environmentally friendly insect pest control, using various strategies. Baculoviruses have been used as biological control agents with success against various insect pests. Viruses belonging to other families have been proposed for use, and are under evaluation for safety, specificity, and efficacy in the control of their insect hosts. This Issue aims to present the state-of-the-art on the actual use of viruses in pest control and the new approaches under development.

Prof. Dr. Miguel López-Ferber
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

Article
CpGV-M Replication in Type I Resistant Insects: Helper Virus and Order of Ingestion Are Important
Viruses 2021, 13(9), 1695; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13091695 (registering DOI) - 26 Aug 2021
Viewed by 202
Abstract
The genetic diversity of baculoviruses provides a sustainable agronomic solution when resistance to biopesticides seems to be on the rise. This genetic diversity promotes insect infection by several genotypes (i.e., multiple infections) that are more likely to kill the host. However, the mechanism [...] Read more.
The genetic diversity of baculoviruses provides a sustainable agronomic solution when resistance to biopesticides seems to be on the rise. This genetic diversity promotes insect infection by several genotypes (i.e., multiple infections) that are more likely to kill the host. However, the mechanism and regulation of these virus interactions are still poorly understood. In this article, we focused on baculoviruses infecting the codling moth, Cydia pomonella: two Cydia pomonella granulovirus genotypes, CpGV-M and CpGV-R5, and Cryptophlebia peltastica nucleopolyhedrovirus (CrpeNPV). The influence of the order of ingestion of the virus genotypes, the existence of an ingestion delay between the genotypes and the specificity of each genotype involved in the success of multiple infection were studied in the case of Cydia pomonella resistance. To obtain a multiple infection in resistant insects, the order of ingestion is a key factor, but the delay for ingestion of the second virus is not. CrpeNPV cannot substitute CpGV-R5 to allow replication of CpGV-M. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Insect Viruses and Pest Management 2.0)
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Article
Bacmid Expression of Granulovirus Enhancin En3 Accumulates in Cell Soluble Fraction to Potentiate Nucleopolyhedrovirus Infection
Viruses 2021, 13(7), 1233; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13071233 - 25 Jun 2021
Viewed by 513
Abstract
Enhancins are metalloproteinases that facilitate baculovirus infection in the insect midgut. They are more prevalent in granuloviruses (GVs), constituting up to 5% of the proteins of viral occlusion bodies (OBs). In nucleopolyhedroviruses (NPVs), in contrast, they are present in the envelope of the [...] Read more.
Enhancins are metalloproteinases that facilitate baculovirus infection in the insect midgut. They are more prevalent in granuloviruses (GVs), constituting up to 5% of the proteins of viral occlusion bodies (OBs). In nucleopolyhedroviruses (NPVs), in contrast, they are present in the envelope of the occlusion-derived virions (ODV). In the present study, we constructed a recombinant Autographa californica NPV (AcMNPV) that expressed the Trichoplusia ni GV (TnGV) enhancin 3 (En3), with the aim of increasing the presence of enhancin in the OBs or ODVs. En3 was successfully produced but did not localize to the OBs or the ODVs and accumulated in the soluble fraction of infected cells. As a result, increased OB pathogenicity was observed when OBs were administered in mixtures with the soluble fraction of infected cells. The mixture of OBs and the soluble fraction of Sf9 cells infected with BacPhEn3 recombinant virus was ~3- and ~4.7-fold more pathogenic than BacPh control OBs in the second and fourth instars of Spodoptera exigua, respectively. In contrast, when purified, recombinant BacPhEn3 OBs were as pathogenic as control BacPh OBs. The expression of En3 in the soluble fraction of insect cells may find applications in the development of virus-based insecticides with increased efficacy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Insect Viruses and Pest Management 2.0)
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Article
Breeding for Virus Resistance and Its Effects on Deformed Wing Virus Infection Patterns in Honey Bee Queens
Viruses 2021, 13(6), 1074; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13061074 - 04 Jun 2021
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Abstract
Viruses, and in particular the deformed wing virus (DWV), are considered as one of the main antagonists of honey bee health. The ‘suppressed in ovo virus infection’ trait (SOV) described for the first time that control of a virus infection can be achieved [...] Read more.
Viruses, and in particular the deformed wing virus (DWV), are considered as one of the main antagonists of honey bee health. The ‘suppressed in ovo virus infection’ trait (SOV) described for the first time that control of a virus infection can be achieved from genetically inherited traits and that the virus state of the eggs is indicative for this. This research aims to explore the effect of the SOV trait on DWV infections in queens descending from both SOV-positive (QDS+) and SOV-negative (QDS–) queens. Twenty QDS+ and QDS– were reared from each time four queens in the same starter–finisher colony. From each queen the head, thorax, ovaries, spermatheca, guts and eviscerated abdomen were dissected and screened for the presence of the DWV-A and DWV-B genotype using qRT-PCR. Queens descending from SOV-positive queens showed significant lower infection loads for DWV-A and DWV-B as well as a lower number of infected tissues for DWV-A. Surprisingly, differences were less expressed in the reproductive tissues, the ovaries and spermatheca. These results confirm that selection on the SOV trait is associated with increased virus resistance across viral genotypes and that this selection drives DWV towards an increased tissue specificity for the reproductive tissues. Further research is needed to explore the mechanisms underlying the interaction between the antiviral response and DWV. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Insect Viruses and Pest Management 2.0)
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Article
Characterisation of the Viral Community Associated with the Alfalfa Weevil (Hypera postica) and Its Host Plant, Alfalfa (Medicago sativa)
Viruses 2021, 13(5), 791; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13050791 - 28 Apr 2021
Viewed by 493
Abstract
Advances in viral metagenomics have paved the way of virus discovery by making the exploration of viruses in any ecosystem possible. Applied to agroecosystems, such an approach opens new possibilities to explore how viruses circulate between insects and plants, which may help to [...] Read more.
Advances in viral metagenomics have paved the way of virus discovery by making the exploration of viruses in any ecosystem possible. Applied to agroecosystems, such an approach opens new possibilities to explore how viruses circulate between insects and plants, which may help to optimise their management. It could also lead to identifying novel entomopathogenic viral resources potentially suitable for biocontrol strategies. We sampled the larvae of a natural population of alfalfa weevils (Hypera postica), a major herbivorous pest feeding on legumes, and its host plant alfalfa (Medicago sativa). Insect and plant samples were collected from a crop field and an adjacent meadow. We characterised the diversity and abundance of viruses associated with weevils and alfalfa, and described nine putative new virus species, including four associated with alfalfa and five with weevils. In addition, we found that trophic accumulation may result in a higher diversity of plant viruses in phytophagous pests compared to host plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Insect Viruses and Pest Management 2.0)
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