Late Male-Killing Viruses in Homona magnanima Identified as Osugoroshi Viruses, Novel Members of Partitiviridae

Ryosuke Fujita, Maki N. Inoue, Takumi Takamatsu, Hiroshi Arai, Mayu Nishino, Nobuhiko Abe, Kentaro Itokawa, Madoka Nakai, Syun Ichi Urayama, Yuto Chiba, Michael Amoa-Bosompem, Yasuhisa Kunimi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Late male-killing, a male-specific death after hatching, is a unique phenotype found in Homona magnanima, oriental tea tortrix. The male-killing agent was suspected to be an RNA virus, but details were unknown. We herein successfully isolated and identified the putative male-killing virus as Osugoroshi viruses (OGVs). The three RNA-dependent RNA polymerase genes detected were phylogenetically related to Partitiviridae, a group of segmented double-stranded RNA viruses. Purified dsRNA from a late male-killing strain of H. magnanima revealed 24 segments, in addition to the RdRps, with consensus terminal sequences. These segments included the previously found male-killing agents MK1068 (herein OGV-related RNA16) and MK1241 (OGV-related RNA7) RNAs. Ultramicroscopic observation of purified virions, which induced late male-killing in the progeny of injected moths, showed sizes typical of Partitiviridae. Mathematical modeling showed the importance of late male-killing in facilitating horizontal transmission of OGVs in an H. magnanima population. This study is the first report on the isolation of partiti-like virus from insects, and one thought to be associated with late male-killing, although the viral genomic contents and combinations in each virus are still unknown.

Original languageEnglish
Article number620623
JournalFrontiers in Microbiology
Volume11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 20 2021

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Microbiology
  • Microbiology (medical)

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