Biological and Molecular Studies of a Cypovirus from the Black Fly
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Journal of Invertebrate Pathology 95 (2007) 26–32 www.elsevier.com/locate/yjipa Biological and molecular studies of a cypovirus from the black Xy Simulium ubiquitum (Diptera: Simuliidae) Terry B. Green a, Susan White a, Shujing Rao b, Peter P.C. Mertens b, Peter H. Adler c, James J. Becnel a,¤ a ARS, CMAVE, 1600-1700 S.W. 23rd Drive, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA b Pirbright Laboratory, Institute for Animal Health, Ash Road Pirbright, Woking, Surrey, GU24 0NF, UK c Division of Entomology, Clemson University, 114 Long Hall, Clemson, SC 29634-0315, USA Received 20 July 2006; accepted 24 October 2006 Available online 16 January 2007 Abstract A cypovirus from the black Xy Simulium ubiquitum (SuCPV) was isolated and examined using biological and molecular techniques. SuCPV produces small (typically 0.25 m), polyhedral shaped inclusion bodies (polyhedra), in which the virus particles become multiply embedded. SuCPV is the third cypovirus isolated from Diptera, but the Wrst from Simuliidae that has been characterized using molecular analyses. SuCPV has a genome composed of 10 segments of dsRNA, with an electrophoretic migration pattern that is diVerent from those of recent UsCPV-17 and CrCPV-17 isolates from the mosquitoes Uranotaenia sapphirina and Culex restuans, respectively. The SuCPV electropherotype appears to show signiWcant diVerences from those of the previously characterized lepidopteran cypoviruses. Sequence analysis of SuCPV segment 10 shows that it is unrelated to either of the two CPV isolates from Diptera or to the CPV species for which Seg-10 has been previously characterized from Lepidoptera. A comparison of the terminal regions of SuCPV genome segments to those of CPV-1, 2, 4, 5 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19 also revealed only low levels of conservation. We therefore, propose that SuCPV is classiWed within a new Cypovirus species, which we have tentatively identiWed as Cypovirus-20. We have therefore referred to this virus isolate as S. ubiquitum CPV-20 (SuCPV-20). © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Simulium ubiquitum Cypovirus; Black Xy; Transmission; Reoviridae; Morphology; Electropherotype; Diptera 1. Introduction within which the virus particles can become either singly or (more usually) multiply embedded. Cypoviruses usually Cypoviruses have been isolated mainly from insects in infect the midgut cells, particularly of the insect larval the orders Lepidoptera, Diptera, and Hymenoptera. The stages and can produce chronic rather than fatal disease. cypovirus genome usually consists of 10 double-stranded Sixteen diVerent virus species (Cypovirus-1 to Cypovirus-16) RNA (dsRNA) segments (Mertens et al., 2004; Hukuhara have already been formally recognized within the genus and Bonami, 1991; Payne and Rivers, 1976), packaged as Cypovirus, family Reoviridae (Mertens et al., 2004). These exactly one copy of each segment, within each single- diVerent species can be distinguished by diVerences in the shelled, icosahedral and turreted virus particle. The cypovi- migration patterns of their dsRNAs during electrophoresis, ruses replicate within the cytoplasm of infected insect cells variations in RNA sequences (both in the coding regions and typically produce inclusion bodies (polyhedra) that are and conserved terminal regions) and by antigenic variation composed primarily of a single viral protein (polyhedrin), in the viral proteins (Mertens et al., 2004, 1999; Payne and Rivers, 1976). Further Cypovirus species (CPV-17, 18, and 19) have been proposed, based on isolates from mosquitoes * Corresponding author. Fax: +1 352 374 5966. (CPV-17—Green et al., 2006; Shapiro et al., 2005) and from E-mail address: [email protected] (J.J. Becnel). the winter moth Operophtera brumata (CPV-18 and 19— 0022-2011/$ - see front matter © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jip.2006.10.006 T.B. Green et al. / Journal of Invertebrate Pathology 95 (2007) 26–32 27 Graham et al., 2006) that have been characterized and com- were exposed to 5 LE (larval equivalent) of S. ubiquitum pared to the existing species by electropherotype analysis infected with CPV in 100 ml of 0 or 10 mM MgCl2 at room and sequencing of the viral genome. temperature and then transferred to 15 °C for two days. Historically, hundreds of CPV isolates have been identi- Larvae were examined two and Wve days post inoculum Wed from diVerent species of Lepidoptera, based on the simi- (p.i.) for signs of disease. larities in their virion, inclusion bodies and infection of midgut epithelial cells. However, most of these viruses have 2.5. Analysis of SuCPV by electropherotype remained uncharacterized and are consequently unclassiWed by the International Committee for the Taxonomy of Viruses Genomic dsRNAs of SuCPV was extracted from puri- (ICTV), due (in large part) to an inability to recover enough Wed polyhedra, using a QIAampViral Mini Kit from of each virus for molecular studies (such as electropherotyp- Qiagen (Green et al., 2006; Shapiro et al., 2005; Rao et al., ing, serological analysis, or sequencing). We report the isola- 2003; Hagiwara et al., 2002). SuCPV RNA was analyzed on tion of a CPV from the black Xy Simulium ubiquitum and a 1% agarose gel. Ethidium bromide was integrated into the present molecular data to support its classiWcation as a mem- gel at a Wnal concentration of 0.5 mg/ml. Genomic RNA ber of a new Cypovirus species that we have tentatively iden- from UsCPV-17 and CrCPV-17 was also analyzed in the tiWed as Cypovirus-20. The new virus isolate can therefore be same gel to compare the electrophoretic proWle of cypo- named as ‘Simulium ubiquitum CPV-20’ (SuCPV-20). viruses isolated from Diptera. Seg-10 sequences from UsCPV-17 (AY876384) and CrCPV-17 (DQ212785) 2. Materials and methods genomes are accessible in GenBank. 2.1. Field collection and gross pathology 2.6. cDNA synthesis, ampliWcation by PCR, cloning and sequencing Simulium larvae were collected twice in Hatchet Creek at Hwy 24 in Alachua County, Florida (N29.73066 The conditions for cDNA synthesis, ampliWcation by W82.24906), in April and May 2005. The larvae were held PCR, cloning, and sequencing were similar to the proto- in creek water and returned to the laboratory for examina- cols published by Shapiro et al. (2005) and Green et al. tion. Individual larvae were removed from the plant mate- (2006). BrieXy, RNA was isolated from puriWed virions, rial and examined against a dark background, using a using a QIAampViral Mini Kit (Qiagen). An anchor dissecting microscope. Diseased larvae were segregated by primer was ligated to the dsRNAs, using T4 RNA ligase pathogen types, and samples of diseased and healthy larvae (New England Biolab). cDNA synthesis was then per- were placed in 70% ethanol for identiWcation. formed with a primer part that is complementary to the anchor using AMV reverse transcriptase (Promega). PCR 2.2. Ultrastructural studies (electron microscopy) was completed using the Advantage 2 PCR Kit (Clon- tech) with primer 5-15-1. The PCR conditions were 95 °C Dissected midguts of infected black Xy larvae were pro- for 15 s of denaturing and 68 °C for 3 min of annealing/ cessed for electron microscopy as described by Shapiro extension (24 cycles). et al. (2004). BrieXy, dissected midguts were Wxed in 2.5% The PCR products of SuCPV were separated on a 1% gluteraldehyde for 2 h, postWxed in 2% osmium tetroxide agarose gel. The expected size of Seg-10 was »850 bp. The for 1 h, dehydrated in an ethanol series and embedded in Seg-10 DNA band was then excised, puriWed, A-tailed by epon-araldite. Thin sections were stained in uranyl acetate Taq enzyme (10 min at 72 °C with 200 nM dATP in and lead citrate and examined and photographed at 75 kV. 1£ Taq buVer), and cloned into pGEM-T Easy vector. The cloned insert from Seg-10 was ampliWed by PCR, 2.3. PuriWcation of virus using SP6 and T7 primer pairs, and was conWrmed by the lengths of the PCR product and by restriction mapping. Midguts of SuCPV-infected larvae were dissected and Three clones from Seg-10 were completely sequenced homogenized in deionized water (25 from the Wrst collection using SP6 and T7 primers, with a dye terminator cycle and 50 from the second collection). The suspension was placed sequencing ready reaction kit on a Beckman CEQ8000 on a continuous 0.1mM NaOH : HS-40 Ludox® gradient and system. The sequences obtained were then used to design centrifuged at 16,000g for 30min. The resulting band was primers for direct sequencing of the RT-PCR products removed and suspended in 0.1mM NaOH and spun again at from Seg-10, which conWrmed the original sequence data 16,000g for 20min and this washing was repeated three times. from the cloned cDNAs. The Wnal pellet was suspended in 0.1mM NaOH. 2.7. Homology analysis 2.4. Horizontal transmission (Cation Assays) Homology searches of the nucleotide and predicted Four-day old Culex quinquefasciatus (Say), Anopheles amino acid sequence of SuCPV were performed using quadrimaculatus (Say) and Anopheles albimanus (Wied.) BLAST (NCBI). 28 T.B. Green et al. / Journal of Invertebrate Pathology 95 (2007) 26–32 3. Results ous Ludox gradient. The estimated density was 1.200 § 0.001 (n D 2). 3.1. Field collection and gross pathology 3.3. Ultrastructural studies Hatchet Creek drains a woodland swamp area in North- ern Alachua County, Florida, USA. At the collection site, Inclusion bodies of this virus were localized in the cyto- however, the creek crosses under the highway and is not plasm of epithelial cells in the gastric caeca and posterior shaded by tree canopy, allowing grasses and other aquatic midgut of larval black Xies (Fig. 1a and b). Non-occluded vegetation to grow. The average conductivity of the stream and occluded viral particles were distributed throughout was 65 § 5 S/cm, with total dissolved solids of 43 § 4 ppm the cytoplasm, but not observed within nuclei (Fig.