Insect viruses as biocontrol agents

Winstanley, Doreen; Rovesti, L.

doi:10.1007/978-94-011-1532-2_5

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Managed host-shifts of microbes have been reported in insects previously, e.g. the endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia has been used to block mosquito-borne disease transmission, and insect-pathogenic viruses have been used for pest management [8,65,66,67]. But as far as we are aware, this is the first time this approach has been considered using novel viruses detected by next-generation sequencing approaches.…”

Section: Plos Pathogensmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…thousands of viruses have been reported in vertebrate and invertebrate species using metagenomic and transcriptomic sequencing technologies [1,2,3,4,5]. Insect pathogens (including bacteria, fungi and viruses) that naturally kill their hosts can be harnessed as potential biopesticides [6,7,8]. The identification of potential biocontrol agents of insects has largely relied on isolating overtly pathogenic microorganisms from cadavers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Novel partiti-like viruses are conditional mutualistic symbionts in their normal lepidopteran host, African armyworm, but parasitic in a novel host, Fall armyworm

Yang

et al. 2020

PLoS Pathog

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Recent advances in next generation sequencing (NGS) (e.g. metagenomic and transcriptomic sequencing) have facilitated the discovery of a large number of new insect viruses, but the characterization of these viruses is still in its infancy. Here, we report the discovery, using RNA-seq, of three new partiti-like viruses from African armyworm, Spodoptera exempta (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), which are all vertically-transmitted transovarially from mother to offspring with high efficiency. Experimental studies show that the viruses reduce their host's growth rate and reproduction, but enhance their resistance to a nucleopolyhedrovirus (NPV). Via microinjection, these partiti-like viruses were transinfected into a novel host, a newly-invasive crop pest in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the Fall armyworm, S. frugiperda. This revealed that in this new host, these viruses appear to be deleterious without any detectable benefit; reducing their new host's reproductive rate and increasing their susceptibility to NPV. Thus, the partiti-like viruses appear to be conditional mutualistic symbionts in their normal host, S. exempta, but parasitic in the novel host, S. frugiperda. Transcriptome analysis of S. exempta and S. frugiperda infected, or not, with the partiti-like viruses indicates that the viruses may regulate pathways related to immunity and reproduction. These findings suggest a possible pest management strategy via the artificial host-shift of novel viruses discovered by NGS.

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Section: Plos Pathogensmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Novel partiti-like viruses are conditional mutualistic symbionts in their normal lepidopteran host, African armyworm, but parasitic in a novel host, Fall armyworm

Yang

et al. 2020

PLoS Pathog

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“…However, insect-virus associations are not limited to this. First, insects are not only vectors for viruses, but a virus can simply be pathogenic to its insect host, and in this context, viruses are also studied as potential biological control agents to kill pest insects (Carter, 1984;Winstanley & Rovesti, 1993;Lacey et al, 2001). Viruses might manipulate the host behavior or physiology, ultimately to increase its own transmission and replication, for example, inducing increased egg laying in their host (Gandon et al, 2009), or causing the infected hosts to migrate to locations that increase the chance of viral dispersal (van Houte et al, 2014).…”

Section: Virusesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The family of Baculoviridae has been the best studied group for use as biocontrol agents against coleopteran, hemipteran (sawflies), and lepidopteran pests (Carter, 1984;Winstanley & Rovesti, 1993;Lacey et al, 2001;Williams et al, 2017). An advantage of these viral biocontrol agents is their high specificity for a particular pest insect, with limited possibilities for non-target effects (e.g., on beneficial insects or humans), and they can naturally spread through a pest population.…”

Section: Viral Functions In Biological Control Of Pest Insectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The microbiome of pest insects: it is not just bacteria

Gurung

Wertheim

Salles

2019

Entomologia Exp Applicata

142

113

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Insects are associated with multiple microbes that have been reported to influence various aspects of their biology. Most studies in insects, including pest species, focus on the bacterial communities of the microbiome even though the microbiome consists of members of many more kingdoms, which can also have large influence on the life history of insects. In this review, we present some key examples of how the different members of the microbiome, such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, archaea, and protozoa, affect the fitness and behavior of pest insects. Moreover, we argue that interactions within and among microbial groups are abundant and of great importance, necessitating the use of a community approach to study microbial–host interactions. We propose that the restricted focus on bacteria very likely hampers our understanding of the functioning and impact of the microbiome on the biology of pest insects. We close our review by highlighting a few open questions that can provide an in‐depth understanding of how other components of the microbiome, in addition to bacteria, might influence host performance, thus contributing to pest insect ecology.

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“…However, the rapid rise in the use of chemical insecticides and their remarkable insecticidal characteristics such as broad-spectrum toxicity and rapid speed of kill meant that baculoviruses were largely overlooked as pest control agents. Ironically, the same features that initially favored the adoption and widespread use of chemical insecticides resulted in overdependence on synthetic insecticides during the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s (Winstanley and Rovesti, 1993). Growing awareness of the hazards of chemical pesticides resulted in the urgent need to develop safe control products that could overcome the increasing problems of pest resistance and consumer demands for residue-free products (Nicolopoulou-Stamati et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introduction 1 General Introduction and Scope Of Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic diversity in Chrysodeixis includens nucleopolyhedrovirus and factors involved in its generation

Aguirre¹

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In the present thesis, the genetic variability of field-collected isolates of Chrysodeixis includens nucleopolyhedrovirus (ChinNPV) was examined. These results have revealed the great variability present within natural ChinNPV isolates, confirm the differences between two different genetic variants from these isolates and, more important, appear to identify the ChinNPV-K variant as a generator of variability in these isolates. In conclusion, a great variability has been revealed within ChinNPV natural isolates, with a single variant showing a key role in the generation of this diversity in a concentration-dependent manner.

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Insect viruses as biocontrol agents

Cited by 7 publications

References 47 publications

Novel partiti-like viruses are conditional mutualistic symbionts in their normal lepidopteran host, African armyworm, but parasitic in a novel host, Fall armyworm

Novel partiti-like viruses are conditional mutualistic symbionts in their normal lepidopteran host, African armyworm, but parasitic in a novel host, Fall armyworm

The microbiome of pest insects: it is not just bacteria

Genetic diversity in Chrysodeixis includens nucleopolyhedrovirus and factors involved in its generation

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