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 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.
Highlights
Our knowledge of viruses infecting insects is largely skewed towards a small number of species of economical or health concerns in humans and their domesticated plants and animals [1]
We found 23 virus families associated with the alfalfa agrosystem (Figure 3), including plant or fungus-associated viruses belonging to 11 virus families (Alphaflexiviridae, Amalgaviridae, Bromoviridae, Caulimoviridae, Endornaviridae, Geminiviridae, Luteoviridae, Partitiviridae, Secoviridae, Tymoviridae and Solemoviridae) and arthropod-infecting virus belonging to nine families (Birnaviridae, Iflaviridae, Mesoniviridae, Parvoviridae, Permutotetraviridae, Phenuiviridae, Qinviridae, Reoviridae and Sinhaliviridae)
The aim of this study was to explore the diversity of viruses circulating between an insect pest and its host plant using viral metagenomics
Summary
Our knowledge of viruses infecting insects is largely skewed towards a small number of species of economical or health concerns in humans and their domesticated plants and animals [1]. Insects belong to the most widespread and diversified group of animals on Earth, and despite their relatively small size, they represent a significant part of the terrestrial biomass [2]. A viral metagenomic approach combined with high-throughput sequencing and dedicated bioinformatic tools allows the exploration of a large fraction of the diversity of viruses with no a priori knowledge. This approach allowed the “pathogen-centered” approach relying on virus amplification that had long prevailed for virus discovery to be overcome [9]. Viral metagenomics can be applied to the surveillance of agro-ecosystems (agrosystems), i.e., anthropized ecosystems dedicated to food production, and can help to understand how viruses, including pathogenic ones, circulate and impact their functioning [10]
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