Abstract
BackgroundDicistroviridae is a new family of small, non-enveloped, +ssRNA viruses pathogenic to both beneficial arthropods and insect pests. Little is known about the dicistrovirus replication mechanism or gene function, and any knowledge on these subjects comes mainly from comparisons with mammalian viruses from the Picornaviridae family. Due to its peculiar genome organization and characteristics of the per os viral transmission route, dicistroviruses make good candidates for use as biopesticides. Triatoma virus (TrV) is a pathogen of Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), one of the main vectors of the human trypanosomiasis disease called Chagas disease. TrV was postulated as a potential control agent against Chagas’ vectors. Although there is no evidence that TrV nor other dicistroviruses replicate in species outside the Insecta class, the innocuousness of these viruses in humans and animals needs to be ascertained.MethodsIn this study, RT-PCR and ELISA were used to detect the infectivity of this virus in Mus musculus BALB/c mice.ResultsIn this study we have observed that there is no significant difference in the ratio IgG2a/IgG1 in sera from animals inoculated with TrV when compared with non-inoculated animals or mice inoculated only with non-infective TrV protein capsids.ConclusionsWe conclude that, under our experimental conditions, TrV is unable to replicate in mice. This study constitutes the first test to evaluate the infectivity of a dicistrovirus in a vertebrate animal model.
Highlights
Dicistroviridae is a new family of small, non-enveloped, +ssRNA viruses pathogenic to both beneficial arthropods and insect pests
Absence of clinical infection signals Mice inoculated with Triatoma virus (TrV) by intraperitoneal and per os route did not show any behavioral alteration or clinical signals of viral infection, when compared with mice inoculated with empty TrV particles or saline solution, this is contrary to what happens in triatomines, where the insects inoculated with the virus show leg paralysis, delayed development and death [16,22]
No RT-PCR products corresponding to TrV were detected from blood or feces samples of any of the groups of mice inoculated with TrV or mice inoculated with empty TrV particles (Figure 1)
Summary
Dicistroviridae is a new family of small, non-enveloped, +ssRNA viruses pathogenic to both beneficial arthropods and insect pests. Dicistroviridae is a recently established family of small, non-enveloped viruses, containing a +ssRNA genome, and is classified under the order Picornavirales. This family contains 14 members classified within two genera, Cripavirus (type species Cricket paralysis virus, CrPV), and Aparavirus (type species Acute bee paralysis virus, ACP) [1,2]. Two dicistrovirus members infect the model organism Drosophila melanogaster, Drosophila C virus (DCV) and CrPV [8,9], and eight of them are pathogenic to insect pests, as it is the case with CrPV, which infects field crickets and the Olive Fruit Fly as well [7]. High levels of anti-TrV antibodies were detected in chickens used to feed a colony of TrV-infected insects, the authors of this work concluded that the chickens were apparently refractory to the infection with TrV [12]
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