Discovery and molecular characterization of an ambisense densovirus from South American populations of Solenopsis invicta

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Serval ID
serval:BIB_B4B81D06355F
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Discovery and molecular characterization of an ambisense densovirus from South American populations of Solenopsis invicta
Journal
Biological Control
Author(s)
Valles S.M., Shoemaker D., Wuem Y., Strong C.A., Varone L., Becnel J.J., Shirk P.D.
ISSN
1049-9644
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2013
Volume
67
Number
3
Pages
431-439
Language
english
Abstract
In an effort to discover viruses as classical biological control agents, a metatranscriptomics/pyrosequencing approach was used to survey native Solenopsis invicta collected exclusively in Argentina. A new virus was discovered with characteristics consistent with the family Parvoviridae, subfamily Densovirinae. The virus, tentatively named Solenopsis invicta densovirus (SiDNV), represents the first DNA virus discovered in ants (Formicidae) and the first densovirus in a hymenopteran insect. The ambisense genome was 5280 nucleotides in length and the termini possessed asymmetrically positioned inverted terminal repeats, formed hairpin loops, and had transcriptional regulatory elements including CAAT and TATA sites. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that SiDNV belongs to a group that includes two other densoviruses found in insects (Acheta domestica densovirus and Planococcus citri densovirus). SiDNV was prevalent in fire ants from Argentina but completely absent in fire ants found in the USA indicating that this virus has potential for biological control of introduced S. invicta.
Keywords
Invasive species, Solenopsis invicta, Densovirus, DNA virus, Genome sequence
Web of science
Create date
06/01/2014 11:08
Last modification date
20/08/2019 16:23
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