Santos Ethiane Rozo, Petersen Jirka Manuel, Santana Thaís Danielle Duarte, Harrison Robert L, Ardisson-Araújo Daniel M P
Laboratory of Insect Virology, Cell Biology Department, University of Brasilia, Brasília, DF, 70910-900, Brazil.
Laboratory of Virology, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 PB, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
Virus Genes. 2025 Jun;61(3):365-376. doi: 10.1007/s11262-025-02150-6. Epub 2025 Mar 21.
Nudiviruses (family Nudiviridae) are a diverse group of enveloped, rod-shaped viruses with double-stranded DNA genomes that infect a wide range of insects and crustaceans. These viruses are of significance both as biological control agents in agriculture and as agents of disease in aquaculture and insect rearing. In this work, we found four segments of a novel and divergent nudivirus identified through RNA-seq data from the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae). The sequences of this virus were detected only in a subset of mite transcriptomes. The assembled segments covered a total of 100,780 bp, with 122 annotated ORFs, including all the 28 conserved nudiviral core genes. Phylogenetic analysis based on the predicted amino acid sequences of 17 selected nudiviral core genes placed the virus within the Alphanudivirus genus, in a clade containing nudiviruses identified from flea transcriptomes. This placement was confirmed by phylogenies of segment-specific concatenated core gene alignments. Indeed, the virus was designated as Tetranychus urticae alphanudivirus (TuNV). Transcriptional profiling revealed variable levels of transcriptional activity among genomic segments and viral genes. Arthropod gene homologs were found interspersed among nudiviral genes across all segments along with several unique genes. This genomic and phylogenetic characterization enhances our understanding of nudivirus diversity and evolution within arthropod hosts.
杆状病毒科（Nudiviridae）是一类多样的包膜杆状病毒，其基因组为双链DNA，可感染多种昆虫和甲壳类动物。这些病毒在农业中作为生物防治剂以及在水产养殖和昆虫饲养中作为致病因子都具有重要意义。在这项研究中，我们通过对二斑叶螨（Tetranychus urticae Koch，蜱螨目：叶螨科）的RNA测序数据鉴定出一种新型且不同的杆状病毒的四个片段。该病毒的序列仅在一部分螨转录组中被检测到。组装后的片段总共覆盖了100,780个碱基对，有122个注释的开放阅读框，包括所有28个保守的杆状病毒核心基因。基于17个选定的杆状病毒核心基因的预测氨基酸序列进行的系统发育分析将该病毒置于α杆状病毒属内，在一个包含从跳蚤转录组中鉴定出的杆状病毒的进化枝中。通过片段特异性串联核心基因比对的系统发育分析证实了这一分类位置。实际上，该病毒被命名为二斑叶螨α杆状病毒（TuNV）。转录谱分析揭示了基因组片段和病毒基因之间不同水平的转录活性。在所有片段的杆状病毒基因中散布着节肢动物基因同源物以及几个独特的基因。这种基因组和系统发育特征增强了我们对节肢动物宿主内杆状病毒多样性和进化的理解。
