The location of tomato mottle virus (ToMoV) and cabbage leaf curl virus (CabLCV) (Geminiviridae, genus Begomovirus) in the whitefly vector Bemisia tabaci B-biotype (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) was elucidated using a novel technique incorporating indirect immunofluorescent labeling in freshly dissected whiteflies. Begomoviruses were visualized in the whitefly by indirect-fluorescent-microscopy. Polyclonal and monoclonal primary antibodies were used to successfully detect both ToMoV and CabLCV. Both begomoviruses were located in the anterior region of the midgut and filter-chamber of adult whiteflies, with ToMoV detected in the salivary glands. CabLCV was detected at a greater frequency than ToMoV, with a positive detection of 16% (89 out of 560) for CabLCV and 3% (25 out of 840) for ToMoV. Possible sites involved in geminivirus transport from the gut lumen of whiteflies into the hemocoel were located in the filter-chamber and anterior portion of the midgut. The location of these begomoviruses suggests a possible scenario of virus movement through the whitefly, which is discussed.

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Hemipterans include some of the most important insect pests of agricultural systems and vectors of plant pathogens. The vector, Diaphorina citri (Asian citrus psyllid) belonging to the Psylloidae superfamily, is the primary target of approaches to stop the spread of the pathogen Ca. Liberibacter asiaticus that causes Huanglongbing or citrus greening disease. High quality genomic resources enable rapid functional discovery that can target disease transmission and control. The previous psyllid genome (Diaci v1.1) available in NCBI is missing 25% of the single copy markers conserved in other Hemipterans. Manual genome curation helped to identify a significant number of genome anomalies including misassemblies and missing genes. We present an improved and highly contiguous de novo assembly based on PacBio long reads followed by Dovetail Chicago and Hi-C based scaffolding. The current assembly (Diaci v3) has 13 chromosomal length scaffolds with a genome size of 475 Mb. This is the first report of a chromosomal length assembly in the Hemiptera order according to our knowledge. Full-length cDNA transcripts were sequenced with PacBio Iso-Seq technology from diseased and healthy tissue at multiple life stages. Iso-Seq along with diverse Illumina RNA-Seq expression data were used to predict 19,049 protein-coding genes in psyllid using MAKER annotation pipeline. We also generated a genome independent transcriptome with a comprehensive catalog of all genes in the psyllid.

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SummaryCell culture techniques are indispensable in most, if not all life science disciplines to date. Wherever appropriate cell culture models are lacking, scientific development is hampered. Unfortunately this has been and still is the case in honey bee research, because permanent honey bee cell lines have not so far been established. To overcome this hurdle, protocols for the cultivation of primary honey bee cells and of non-permanent honey bee cell lines have been developed. In addition, heterologous cell culture models for honey bee pathogens based on non-Apis insect cell lines have recently been developed. To further advance this progress and to encourage bee scientists to enter the field of cell biology based research, here we present protocols for the cultivation of honey bee primary cells and non-permanent cell lines, as well as hints for the cultivation of permanent insect cell lines suitable for honey bee research. Métodos estándar para cultivos celulares en Apis mellifera ResumenLas técnicas de cultivo celular son indispensables en la mayoría, si no en todas las disciplinas de ciencias de la vida hasta la fecha. Siempre que se carezca de modelos de cultivo celular apropiados, el desarrollo científico se ve obstaculizado. Desafortunadamente, esto ha sido y todavía es el caso de la investigación en la abeja de la miel, ya que hasta ahora, no se han establecido líneas celulares permanentes de abeja de la miel. Para superar este obstáculo, se han desarrollado protocolos para el cultivo de células primarias de la abeja de la miel y líneas celulares no permanentes de abejas. Además, también se han desarrollado recientemente modelos heterólogos de cultivo celular para patógenos de las abejas melíferas basados en líneas celulares de insectos que no pertenecen al género Apis. Para avanzar en este progreso y alentar a los científicos apícolas a entrar en el campo de la investigación basada en la biología celular, presentamos aquí los protocolos para el cultivo de células primarias de abejas y líneas celulares no permanentes, así como consejos para el cultivo de líneas celulares de insectos permanentes adecuadas para la investigación en la abeja de la miel.

The complete nucleotide sequence of a novel single-stranded RNA virus infecting the glassy-winged sharpshooter, Homalodisca coagulata, has been determined. In silico analysis of H. coagulata virus-1 (HoCV-1) revealed a 9321-nt polyadenylated genome encoding two large open reading frames (ORF1 and ORF2) separated by a 182-nt intergenic region (IGR). The deduced amino acid sequence of the 5'-proximal ORF (ORF1, nt 420-5807) exhibited conserved core motifs characteristic of the helicases, cysteine proteases, and RNA-dependent RNA polymerases of other insect-infecting picorna-like viruses. A structural model created using Mfold exposed a series of stem loop (SL) structures immediately preceding the second ORF which are analogous to an internal ribosome entry site (IRES), suggesting that ORF2 begins with a noncognate GCA triplet rather than the canonical AUG. This 3' ORF2 (5990-8740) showed significant similarity to the structural proteins of members of the family Dicistroviridae, particularly those belonging to the genus Cripavirus. Evidence demonstrating relatedness of these viruses regarding genome organization, amino acid sequence similarity, and putative replication strategy substantiate inclusion of HoCV-1 into this taxonomic position.