Abstract
Background Nylanderia pubens (Forel) is an invasive ant species that in recent years has developed into a serious nuisance problem in the Caribbean and United States. A rapidly expanding range, explosive localized population growth, and control difficulties have elevated this ant to pest status. Professional entomologists and the pest control industry in the United States are urgently trying to understand its biology and develop effective control methods. Currently, no known biological-based control agents are available for use in controlling N. pubens.Methodology and Principal FindingsMetagenomics and pyrosequencing techniques were employed to examine the transcriptome of field-collected N. pubens colonies in an effort to identify virus infections with potential to serve as control agents against this pest ant. Pyrosequencing (454-platform) of a non-normalized N. pubens expression library generated 1,306,177 raw sequence reads comprising 450 Mbp. Assembly resulted in generation of 59,017 non-redundant sequences, including 27,348 contigs and 31,669 singlets. BLAST analysis of these non-redundant sequences identified 51 of potential viral origin. Additional analyses winnowed this list of potential viruses to three that appear to replicate in N. pubens.ConclusionsPyrosequencing the transcriptome of field-collected samples of N. pubens has identified at least three sequences that are likely of viral origin and, in which, N. pubens serves as host. In addition, the N. pubens transcriptome provides a genetic resource for the scientific community which is especially important at this early stage of developing a knowledgebase for this new pest.
Highlights
Pyrosequencing the transcriptome of field-collected samples of N. pubens has identified at least three sequences that are likely of viral origin and, in which, N. pubens serves as host
The N. pubens transcriptome provides a genetic resource for the scientific community which is especially important at this early stage of developing a knowledgebase for this new pest
Metagenomic analysis [1] coupled with new generation sequencing technologies have revolutionized the way in which entomologists can search for potential pathogens for use as insect biological control agents
Summary
Metagenomic analysis [1] coupled with new generation sequencing technologies have revolutionized the way in which entomologists can search for potential pathogens for use as insect biological control agents. Nylanderia pubens (Forel), previously Paratrechina pubens [9], is an invasive ant species that in recent years has developed into a serious pest problem in the Caribbean and United States [10,11]. While viruses can be important biological control agents against pest insect populations [16], none are known to infect N. pubens. Nylanderia pubens (Forel) is an invasive ant species that in recent years has developed into a serious nuisance problem in the Caribbean and United States. No known biologicalbased control agents are available for use in controlling N. pubens
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