title: Isolation and characterization of Nylanderia fulva virus 1, a positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus infecting the tawny crazy ant, Nylanderia fulva.
abstract: We report the discovery of Nylanderia fulva virus 1 (NfV-1), the first virus identified and characterized from the ant, Nylanderia fulva. The NfV-1 genome (GenBank accession KX024775) is 10,881 nucleotides in length, encoding one large open reading frame (ORF). Helicase, protease, RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, and jelly-roll capsid protein domains were recognized within the polyprotein. Phylogenetic analysis placed NfV-1 in an unclassified clade of viruses. Electron microscopic examination of negatively stained samples revealed particles with icosahedral symmetry with a diameter of 28.7±1.1nm. The virus was detected by RT-PCR in larval, pupal, worker and queen developmental stages. However, the replicative strand of NfV-1 was only detected in larvae. Vertical transmission did not appear to occur, but horizontal transmission was facile. The inter-colonial field prevalence of NfV-1 was 52±35% with some local infections reaching 100%. NfV-1 was not detected in limited samples of other Nylanderia species or closely related ant species.
authors.affiliation: Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, USDA-ARS, 1600 SW 23rd Drive, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA. Electronic address: steven.valles@ars.usda.gov.
authors.forename: Steven M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Valles
authors.affiliation: Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, USDA-ARS, 1600 SW 23rd Drive, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA.
authors.forename: David H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Oi
authors.affiliation: Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, USDA-ARS, 1600 SW 23rd Drive, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA.
authors.forename: James J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Becnel
authors.affiliation: Wilkes Honors College, Florida Atlantic University, 5353 Parkside Drive, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA.
authors.forename: James K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Wetterer
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Towson University, 8000 York Road, Towson, MD 21252, USA.
authors.forename: John S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: LaPolla
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1QP, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Andrew E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Firth
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000821:virology*; D001483:Base Sequence; D023061:Gene Order; D016679:Genome, Viral; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010802:Phylogeny; D012328:RNA Viruses / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012367:RNA, Viral; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral
keywords: Genome sequence; Insect picorna-like virus; Nylanderia fulva; Tawny crazy ant, RNA virus