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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » Corn Insects and Crop Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #336154
Research Project: Managing Insects in the Corn Agro-Ecosystem

Location: Corn Insects and Crop Genetics Research

Title: Genome sequence of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera virus 2, a novel small RNA virus of the western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte.

Author
item LIU, SIJUN - Iowa State University
item CHEN, YUTING - Iowa State University
item Sappington, Thomas
item BONNING, BRYONY - Iowa State University

Submitted to: Genome Announcements
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/28/2017
Publication Date: 5/18/2017
Citation: Liu, S., Chen, Y., Sappington, T.W., Bonning, B.C. 2017. Genome sequence of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera virus 2, a novel small RNA virus of the western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte. Genome Announcements. 5(20):e00365-17. doi: 10.1128/genomeA.00365-17.

Interpretive Summary: Western corn rootworm (WCR), Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), is a significant pest on maize in the United States, causing severe economic loss, and now threatens Europe. Given the resistance of this species to many current control methods, WCR adults were collected from cornfields in the United States (Iowa, Arizona, Colorado, Pennsylvania), and Europe (Hungary, Croatia, Austria), and RNA was extracted and sequenced to determine if virus sequences were present. The genome sequence of a novel small RNA virus was identified from the RNA, belonging to a category only rarely reported in other insects. Small RNA viruses of insects have potential for insect pest management. This information will be used by university, government, and industry scientists in their search for, and development of, possible biocontrol agents for rootworms and other beetle pests of crops.

Technical Abstract: The genome of a novel small RNA virus, tentatively named Diabrotica virgifera virgifera virus 2 (DvvV2), was identified in the western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera through transcriptome sequencing and confirmed by RT-PCR. Here we report the near-complete nucleotide sequence and the genome organization of DvvV2. In contrast to iflaviruses and dicistroviruses, common small RNA virus structural domains such as the Rh_v like domain, were absent from DvvV2. Sequences of DvvV2 were detected by RT-PCR from WCR samples collected in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Iowa and Colorado, suggesting that this virus is widely distributed within WCR populations in the United States.