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Viruses
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State-of-the-Art Insect Viruses Research in China
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State-of-the-Art Insect Viruses Research in China

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2022) | Viewed by 20214

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Huoqing Zheng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
Interests: honeybee pathology; honeybee-parasite-virus interaction; cross-species pathogen transmission

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With a vast territory and high environmental heterogeneity, China is one of the countries with the richest biodiversity of insects. Meanwhile, it is one of the earliest countries to exploit insect resources in the world and is the top producer of many insect-related industrial products such as silk and honey. Viruses that are pathogenic to these beneficial insects cause dramatic economic losses on agriculture in China. In contrast, viruses that are pathogenic to insect pests are potential biological control agents, some of which have been extensively used.

Technological advances and improved financial support in the last decade have facilitated an explosion in the amount of research into insect viruses in China, generating impressive progress. We believe that a better understanding of insect viruses in China will expand our overall knowledge of virology. For some specific circumstances, knowledge on the viruses and their insect hosts in China may be critical to the understanding of virus evolution and insect-virus interaction.

This special issue aims to present the state-of-the-art on insect viruses research in China. We welcome original research articles and reviews across a broad range of topics on insect viruses.

Dr. Huoqing Zheng
Guest Editor

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

  • insect viruses
  • bee viruses
  • viruses-host interaction
  • virus evolution
  • biological control
  • pest management
  • virus pathogenesis

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 3919 KiB  
Article
Mapping the Distributions of Mosquitoes and Mosquito-Borne Arboviruses in China
by Tao Wang, Zheng-Wei Fan, Yang Ji, Jin-Jin Chen, Guo-Ping Zhao, Wen-Hui Zhang, Hai-Yang Zhang, Bao-Gui Jiang, Qiang Xu, Chen-Long Lv, Xiao-Ai Zhang, Hao Li, Yang Yang, Li-Qun Fang and Wei Liu
Viruses 2022, 14(4), 691; https://doi.org/10.3390/v14040691 - 27 Mar 2022
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 4829
Abstract
The geographic expansion of mosquitos is associated with a rising frequency of outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases (MBD) worldwide. We collected occurrence locations and times of mosquito species, mosquito-borne arboviruses, and MBDs in the mainland of China in 1954−2020. We mapped the spatial distributions [...] Read more.
The geographic expansion of mosquitos is associated with a rising frequency of outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases (MBD) worldwide. We collected occurrence locations and times of mosquito species, mosquito-borne arboviruses, and MBDs in the mainland of China in 1954−2020. We mapped the spatial distributions of mosquitoes and arboviruses at the county level, and we used machine learning algorithms to assess contributions of ecoclimatic, socioenvironmental, and biological factors to the spatial distributions of 26 predominant mosquito species and two MBDs associated with high disease burden. Altogether, 339 mosquito species and 35 arboviruses were mapped at the county level. Culex tritaeniorhynchus is found to harbor the highest variety of arboviruses (19 species), followed by Anopheles sinensis (11) and Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus (9). Temperature seasonality, annual precipitation, and mammalian richness were the three most important contributors to the spatial distributions of most of the 26 predominant mosquito species. The model-predicted suitable habitats are 60–664% larger in size than what have been observed, indicating the possibility of severe under-detection. The spatial distribution of major mosquito species in China is likely to be under-estimated by current field observations. More active surveillance is needed to investigate the mosquito species in specific areas where investigation is missing but model-predicted probability is high. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Insect Viruses Research in China)
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18 pages, 4276 KiB  
Article
Densovirus Oil Suspension Significantly Improves the Efficacy and Duration of Larvicidal Activity against Aedes albopictus
by Khadija Batool, Jie Xiao, Ye Xu, Ting Yang, Peiwen Tao, Siyu Zhao, Jiao Chen, Intikhab Alam, Yugu Xie, Jinbao Gu and Xiaoguang Chen
Viruses 2022, 14(3), 475; https://doi.org/10.3390/v14030475 - 25 Feb 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2367
Abstract
Aedes albopictus is the sole vector for various mosquito-borne viruses, including dengue, chikungunya, and Zika. Ecofriendly biological agents are required to reduce the spread of these mosquito-borne infections. Mosquito densoviruses (MDVs) are entomopathogenic mosquito-specific viruses, which can reduce the capacity of isolated vectors [...] Read more.
Aedes albopictus is the sole vector for various mosquito-borne viruses, including dengue, chikungunya, and Zika. Ecofriendly biological agents are required to reduce the spread of these mosquito-borne infections. Mosquito densoviruses (MDVs) are entomopathogenic mosquito-specific viruses, which can reduce the capacity of isolated vectors and decrease mosquito-borne viral disease transmission. However, their variable pathogenicity restricts their commercial use. In the present study, we developed a series of novel larvicide oil suspensions (denoted Bacillus thuringiensis (Bti) oil, Ae. albopictus densovirus (AalDV-5) oil, and a mixture of AalDV-5+Bti oil), which were tested against Ae. albopictus larvae under experimental semi-field and open-field conditions. The effect of AalDV-5 on non-target species was also evaluated. The combined effect of AalDV-5+Bti was greater than that of individual toxins and was longer lasting and more persistent compared with the laboratory AalDV-5 virus strain. The virus was quantified on a weekly basis by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and was persistently detected in rearing water as well as in dead larvae. Wildtype densovirus is not pathogenic to non-target organisms. The present findings confirm the improved effect of a mixed microbial suspension (AalDV-5+Bti oil) larvicide against Ae. albopictus. The development and testing of these products will enable better control of the vector mosquitoes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Insect Viruses Research in China)
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13 pages, 1541 KiB  
Article
Virome Analysis Reveals Diverse and Divergent RNA Viruses in Wild Insect Pollinators in Beijing, China
by Nannan Li, Yizhao Huang, Wei Li and Shufa Xu
Viruses 2022, 14(2), 227; https://doi.org/10.3390/v14020227 - 24 Jan 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3430
Abstract
Insect pollinators provide major pollination services for wild plants and crops. Honeybee viruses can cause serious damage to honeybee colonies. However, viruses of other wild pollinating insects have yet to be fully explored. In the present study, we used RNA sequencing to investigate [...] Read more.
Insect pollinators provide major pollination services for wild plants and crops. Honeybee viruses can cause serious damage to honeybee colonies. However, viruses of other wild pollinating insects have yet to be fully explored. In the present study, we used RNA sequencing to investigate the viral diversity of 50 species of wild pollinating insects. A total of 3 pathogenic honeybee viruses, 8 previously reported viruses, and 26 novel viruses were identified in sequenced samples. Among these, 7 novel viruses were shown to be closely related to honeybee pathogenic viruses, and 4 were determined to have potential pathogenicity for their hosts. The viruses detected in wild insect pollinators were mainly from the order Picornavirales and the families Orthomyxoviridae, Sinhaliviridae, Rhabdoviridae, and Flaviviridae. Our study expanded the species range of known insect pollinator viruses, contributing to future efforts to protect economic honeybees and wild pollinating insects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Insect Viruses Research in China)
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17 pages, 58698 KiB  
Article
Actin Contributes to the Hyperexpression of Baculovirus Polyhedrin (polh) and p10 as a Component of Transcription Initiation Complex (TIC)
by Nan Chen, Guanping Chen, Xiangshuo Kong and Xiaofeng Wu
Viruses 2022, 14(1), 153; https://doi.org/10.3390/v14010153 - 14 Jan 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2706
Abstract
Hyperexpression of polh and p10, two very late genes, is one of the remarkable characteristics in the baculovirus life cycle. However, the mechanisms underlying the hyperexpression of these two genes are still incompletely understood. In this study, actin was identified as a [...] Read more.
Hyperexpression of polh and p10, two very late genes, is one of the remarkable characteristics in the baculovirus life cycle. However, the mechanisms underlying the hyperexpression of these two genes are still incompletely understood. In this study, actin was identified as a highly potential binding partner of polh and p10 promoters by conducting DNA pull-down and LC–MS/MS analyses. Inhibiting actin dynamics delayed and decreased the transcription of polh and p10. Actin interacted with viral RNA polymerase and transcription regulators, and the nuclear import of viral polymerase was inhibited with the disruption of actin dynamics. Simultaneously, the high enrichment of actin in polh and p10 promoters discovered via a chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay indicated that actin was a component of the viral polymerase TIC. Moreover, overexpression of actin surprisingly upregulated the expression of luciferase (Luc) under the control of polh and p10 promoters. Taken together, actin participated in the hyperexpression of polh and p10 as a component of TIC. These results facilitate the promotion of the expression efficiency of foreign genes in the baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Insect Viruses Research in China)
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12 pages, 1979 KiB  
Article
Regulation of RNA Interference Pathways in the Insect Vector Laodelphax striatellus by Viral Proteins of Rice Stripe Virus
by Yan Xiao, Qiong Li, Wei Wang, Yumei Fu and Feng Cui
Viruses 2021, 13(8), 1591; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13081591 - 11 Aug 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2480
Abstract
RNA interference (RNAi), especially the small interfering RNA (siRNA) and microRNA (miRNA) pathways, plays an important role in defending against viruses in plants and insects. However, how insect-transmitted phytoviruses regulate the RNAi-mediated antiviral response in vector insects has barely been uncovered. In this [...] Read more.
RNA interference (RNAi), especially the small interfering RNA (siRNA) and microRNA (miRNA) pathways, plays an important role in defending against viruses in plants and insects. However, how insect-transmitted phytoviruses regulate the RNAi-mediated antiviral response in vector insects has barely been uncovered. In this study, we explored the interaction between rice stripe virus (RSV) and the miRNA and siRNA pathways of the small brown planthopper, which is a vector insect. The transcript and protein levels of key genes in the two RNAi pathways did not change during the RSV infection process. When the expression of insect Ago1, Ago2, or Translin was silenced by the injection of double-stranded RNAs targeting these genes, viral replication was promoted with Ago2 silencing but inhibited with Translin silencing. Protein-protein binding assays showed that viral NS2 and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase interacted with insect Ago2 and Translin, respectively. When NS2 was knocked down, the transcript level of Ago2 increased and viral replication was inhibited. Therefore, viral NS2 behaved like an siRNA suppressor in vector insects. This protein-binding regulation of insect RNAi systems reflects a complicated and diverse coevolution of viruses with their vector insects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Insect Viruses Research in China)
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Review

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18 pages, 1329 KiB  
Review
Sacbrood Virus: A Growing Threat to Honeybees and Wild Pollinators
by Ruike Wei, Lianfei Cao, Ye Feng, Yanping Chen, Gongwen Chen and Huoqing Zheng
Viruses 2022, 14(9), 1871; https://doi.org/10.3390/v14091871 - 25 Aug 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3269
Abstract
Sacbrood virus (SBV) is one of the many viruses that infect both the Western honeybee (Apis mellifera) and the Eastern honeybee (Apis cerana). Recently, the interspecies transmission of SBV has been discovered, especially among wild pollinators. This newly discovered [...] Read more.
Sacbrood virus (SBV) is one of the many viruses that infect both the Western honeybee (Apis mellifera) and the Eastern honeybee (Apis cerana). Recently, the interspecies transmission of SBV has been discovered, especially among wild pollinators. This newly discovered evolutionary occurrence regarding SBV indicates a much wider host range than previously believed, causing further concern about the future sustainability of agriculture and the resilience of ecosystems. Over the past few decades, vast numbers of studies have been undertaken concerning SBV infection in honeybees, and remarkable progress has been made in our understanding of the epidemiology, pathogenesis, transmission, and manifestations of SBV infection in honeybees and other pollinators. Meanwhile, some methods, including Chinese medicine, have been established to control and prevent sacbrood disease in A. cerana in Asian countries. In this review, we summarize the existing knowledge of SBV and address the gaps in the knowledge within the existing literature in the hope of providing future directions for the research and development of management strategies for controlling the spread of this deadly disease. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Insect Viruses Research in China)
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