title: Baculovirus infection triggers a positive phototactic response in caterpillars to induce 'tree-top' disease.
abstract: Many parasites manipulate host behaviour to enhance parasite transmission and survival. A fascinating example is baculoviruses, which often induce death in caterpillar hosts at elevated positions ('tree-top' disease). To date, little is known about the underlying processes leading to this adaptive host manipulation. Here, we show that the baculovirus Spodoptera exigua multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (SeMNPV) triggers a positive phototactic response in S. exigua larvae prior to death and causes the caterpillars to die at elevated positions. This light-dependent climbing behaviour is specific for infected larvae, as movement of uninfected caterpillars during larval development was light-independent. We hypothesize that upon infection, SeMNPV captures a host pathway involved in phototaxis and/or light perception to induce this remarkable behavioural change.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Virology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands vanhoute.stineke@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Stineke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: van Houte
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Virology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Monique M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: van Oers
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Virology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Virology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Just M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Vlak
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Virology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Vera I D
authors.initials: VI
authors.lastname: Ros
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016367:Baculoviridae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007915:Lepidoptera / Q000502:physiology* / Q000821:virology; D008027:Light; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: baculovirus; behavioural manipulation; caterpillars; parasitic manipulation; phototaxis; tree-top disease