Alphanudiviral sequences found in transcriptomes of the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae)

Authors: SANTOS, ETHIANE ROZO - University Of Brasilia; PETERSEN, JIRKA MANUEL - Universite De Tours; SANTANA DUARTE, THAIS DANIELLE - University Of Brazil; Harrison, Robert; ARAUJO-ARDISSON, M.P - (NCE, CECR)networks Of Centres Of Exellence Of Canada, Centres Of Excellence For Commercilization A

Submitted to: Virus Genes
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/9/2025
Publication Date: 3/21/2025
Citation: Santos, E., Petersen, J., Santana Duarte, T., Harrison, R.L., Araujo-Ardisson, M. 2025. Alphanudiviral sequences found in transcriptomes of the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae). Virus Genes. 61(2025).Article e365–376. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11262-025-02150-6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11262-025-02150-6

Interpretive Summary: The two-spotted spider mite is a pest that infests a wide range of plants and poses significant threats to agricultural crops, including fruits, cotton, vegetables, and ornamentals worldwide.  Infestations of this pest are currently addressed with applications of chemical insecticides, but there has been an increasing desire to replace chemical insecticides used for pest control with safer, more environmentally friendly options.  Towards this end, two-spotted spider mite genetic sequence databases were screened for the presence of sequences corresponding to arthopod-specific viruses that potentially can be used to infect and kill mites in the field.  Genetic sequences for a type of arthropod virus called a nudivirus were found in mite genetic databases.  These sequences were compared to those of other nudiviruses, and evidence of the associated nudivirus’s activity in mites was collected. The information in this study contributes to progress towards developing and improving arthopod virus-based insecticides for use against mites and similar arthropods, and will be of interest to those in academia, government, and industry who work with nudiviruses or with two-spotted spider mite.

Technical Abstract: 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 five segments of a novel and divergent alphanudivirus identified through RNA-seq data from the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae). The sequences of this virus, termed Tetranychus urticae alphanudivirus (TuNV), were detected only in a subset of mite transcriptomes. The assembled segments encompassed a total size of 108,420 bp with 124 annotated ORFs, including all 28 nudiviral core genes. Phylogenetic analysis based on the predicted amino acid sequences of 17 selected nudiviral core genes placed TuNV within the Alphanudivirus genus. This placement was confirmed by phylogenies of individual core genes and segment-specific concatenated core gene alignments. 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.