Abstract
Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) is one of the most damaging and costly pests to invade temperate horticultural regions in recent history. Conventional control of this pest is challenging, and an environmentally benign microbial biopesticide is highly desirable. A thorough exploration of the pathogens infecting this pest is not only the first step on the road to the development of an effective biopesticide, but also provides a valuable comparative dataset for the study of viruses in the model family Drosophilidae. Here we use a metatransciptomic approach to identify viruses infecting this fly in both its native (Japanese) and invasive (British and French) ranges. We describe eighteen new RNA viruses, including members of the Picornavirales, Mononegavirales, Bunyavirales, Chuviruses, Nodaviridae, Tombusviridae, Reoviridae, and Nidovirales, and discuss their phylogenetic relationships with previously known viruses. We also detect 18 previously described viruses of other Drosophila species that appear to be associated with D. suzukii in the wild.
Highlights
Drosophila suzukii (Matsamura) is an invasive dipteran pest of soft fruit belonging to the subgenus Sophophora
We identified eighteen new RNA viruses associated with D. suzukii (Table 1)
We make a first survey of the viruses associated with the invasive Drosophila pest D. suzukii in its native and invasive ranges
Summary
Drosophila suzukii (Matsamura) is an invasive dipteran pest of soft fruit belonging to the subgenus Sophophora. First described in Japan in 1916 (Matsumura 1931; Kanzawa 1935), D. suzukii was reported to be widely distributed in Japan shortly after (Kanzawa 1939). It was recorded across Asia during the last century (Peng 1937; Parshad and Duggal 1965; Kang and Moon 1968; Okada 1976; Toda 1991; Sidorenko 1992; Amin ud Din et al 2005), with the first records outside of Asia coming from Hawaii in the 1980s (Kaneshiro 1983).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call