Characterization of<i>Solenopsis invicta</i>(Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Populations in Virginia: Social form Genotyping and Pathogen/Parasitoid Detection

Allen, Hamilton Ross; Valles, Steven M.; Miller, Daniel

doi:10.1653/024.093.0111

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…SINV-1 has been shown to infect S. invicta in the USA and Argentina [58][59][60][61]. Monogyne and polygyne S. invicta colonies [62] serve as hosts for SINV-1 [63].…”

Section: Host Specificity Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

Positive-Strand RNA Viruses Infecting the Red Imported Fire Ant,Solenopsis invicta

Valles

2012

Psyche: A Journal of Entomology

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The imported fire ants,Solenopsis invictaandS. richteriwere introduced into the USA between 1918 and 1945. Since that time, they have expanded their USA range to include some 138 million hectares. Their introduction has had significant economic consequences with costs associated with damage and control efforts estimated at 6 billion dollars annually in the USA. The general consensus of entomologists and myrmecologists is that permanent, sustainable control of these ants in the USA will likely depend on self-sustaining biological control agents. A metagenomics approach successfully resulted in discovery of three viruses infectingS. invicta.Solenopsis invicta virus 1(SINV-1), SINV-2, and SINV-3 are all positive, single-stranded RNA viruses and represent the first viral discoveries in any ant species. Molecular characterization, host relationships, and potential development and use of SINV-1, SINV-2, and SINV-3 as biopesticides are discussed.

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“…SINV-1 has been shown to infect S. invicta in the USA and Argentina [58][59][60][61]. Monogyne and polygyne S. invicta colonies [62] serve as hosts for SINV-1 [63].…”

Section: Host Specificity Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

Positive-Strand RNA Viruses Infecting the Red Imported Fire Ant,Solenopsis invicta

Valles

2012

Psyche: A Journal of Entomology

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“…The fire ants comprise about 20 American species of Solenopsis , which construct fragile earthen mounds in open sunny areas and are frequently found in places like lawns, highways, and city sidewalks; the fire ants are resistant to chemical and biological control methods and currently are infesting more than 310 million acres of land . These ants are omnivorous, feeding on almost any plant or animal material; they can damage farm equipment, irrigation systems, and even agriculturable lands …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…3 These ants are omnivorous, feeding on almost any plant or animal material; they can damage farm equipment, irrigation systems, and even agriculturable lands. 4 The ants' attack is characterized by bites with their mandibles, followed by a painful sting; a single fire ant worker can sting repeatedly, until its venom sac has been depleted. 5 Following the sting, a localized and intense burning sensation caused by the injected alkaloids in the sting site of the victims' skin, followed by local erithrema and the formation of white pustules at the stung area, may lead to secondary infections.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Proteomic View of the Venom from the Fire Ant Solenopsis invicta Buren

et al. 2012

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Fire ants are well-known by their aggressive stinging behavior, causing many stinging incidents of medical importance. The limited availability of fire ant venom for scientific and clinical uses has restricted, up to now, the knowledge about the biochemistry, immunology, and pharmacology of these venoms. For this study, S. invicta venom was obtained commercially and used for proteomic characterization. For this purpose, the combination of gel-based and gel-free proteomic strategies was used to assign the proteomic profile of the venom from the fire ant S. invicta. This experimental approach permitted the identification of 46 proteins, which were organized into four different groups according to their potential role in fire ant venom: true venom components, housekeeping proteins, body muscle proteins, and proteins involved in chemical communication. The active venom components that may not present toxic roles were classified into three subgroups according to their potential functions: self-venom protection, colony asepsis, and chemical communication. Meanwhile, the proteins classified as true toxins, based on their functions after being injected into the victims' bodies by the fire ants, were classified in five other subgroups: proteins influencing the homeostasis of the victims, neurotoxins, proteins that promote venom diffusion, proteins that cause tissue damage/inflammation, and allergens.

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“…Since that time, S. invicta has expanded its range to include most of the southern tier of the USA, largely concentrated from Texas to Florida, but also found as far west as California and north to Virginia (Allen et al, 2010;Williams et al, 2001). S. invicta has demonstrated exceptional invasive capacity with recent introductions in Australia (McCubbin and Weiner, 2002) and China (Wong and Yuen, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple virus infections occur in individual polygyne and monogyne Solenopsis invicta ants

Allen¹,

Valles²,

Strong³

2011

Journal of Invertebrate Pathology

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Concurrent infections of Solenopsis invicta colonies with S. invicta virus 1 (SINV-1), SINV-2, and SINV-3 has been reported. However, whether individual ants were capable of supporting multiple virus infections simultaneously was not known, nor whether the social form of the colony (polygyne or monogyne) had an influence on the occurrence of multiple infection rates in individual ants. S. invicta field populations were sampled sequentially to establish whether multiple virus infections co-occurred in individual worker ants. In addition, the intra-colony virus infection rates were compared in monogyne and polygyne field colonies to determine whether social form played a role in the viral infection prevalence. All combinations of virus infection (SINV-1, SINV-2, or SINV-3 alone, SINV-1 & SINV-2, SINV-1 & SINV-3, SINV-2 & SINV-3, and SINV-1, SINV-2 & SINV-3) were detected in individual worker ants as well as queens in the field. Thus, individual S. invicta ants can be infected simultaneously with all combinations of the S. invicta viruses. Colony social form did have an influence on the intra-colony prevalence of multiple S. invicta virus infections. Polygyne colonies exhibited significantly greater intra- and inter-colony single and multiple virus infections compared with monogyne colonies.

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Characterization ofSolenopsis invicta(Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Populations in Virginia: Social form Genotyping and Pathogen/Parasitoid Detection

Cited by 6 publications

References 29 publications

Positive-Strand RNA Viruses Infecting the Red Imported Fire Ant,Solenopsis invicta

Positive-Strand RNA Viruses Infecting the Red Imported Fire Ant,Solenopsis invicta

Proteomic View of the Venom from the Fire Ant Solenopsis invicta Buren

Multiple virus infections occur in individual polygyne and monogyne Solenopsis invicta ants

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