The effect of the Musca domestica Salivary Gland Hypertrophy Virus (MdSGHV) on food consumption in its adult host, the common house fly (Diptera: Muscidae)

Authors: RACHIMI, SUZANNA - University Of Massachusetts, Amherst; BURAND, JOHN - University Of Massachusetts, Amherst; Geden, Christopher - Chris; STOFFOLANO, JOHN - University Of Massachusetts, Amherst

Submitted to: Journal of Medical Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/24/2020
Publication Date: 1/20/2021
Citation: Rachimi, S., Burand, J.P., Geden, C.J., Stoffolano, J.G. 2021. The effect of the Musca domestica Salivary Gland Hypertrophy Virus (MdSGHV) on food consumption in its adult host, the common house fly (Diptera: Muscidae). Journal of Medical Entomology. https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjaa281.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjaa281

Interpretive Summary: House flies are global pests of animals and people that create conflict at the rural-urban interface and abet the spread of a wide range of disease organisms. Insecticide resistance in the flies has prompted interest in a wide range of biological control organisms to use in management programs. One of those potential biological control agents is Salivary Gland Hypertrophy Virus (MdSGHV), which sterilizes female flies and reduces the ability of male flies to mate. In this study, conduced by researchers at the University of Massachusetts and USDA-ARS-CMAVE (Gainesville Florida), food consumption of healthy flies was compared with flies infected with the virus. Infected flies ate significantly less food than healthy flies, and this may help explain why infected female flies are not able to develop eggs. The results also suggest that infected flies would be less likely to visit food resources in the field and therefore less likely to spread disease agents to animals and humans.

Technical Abstract: Previous studies have shown that the Musca domestica salivary gland hypertrophy virus (MdSGHV) dramatically enlarges the salivary glands and prevents or delays ovarian development in its adult host, the common housefly. The effect that this virus has on the fly’s natural food consumption, however, remained unexplored prior to this study. Using houseflies from a laboratory reared colony, the effect of MdSGHV infection on food consumption was determined over the course of a seven-day period following virus infection. Both virus infected and saline injected control flies were provided with a choice of an 8% sucrose solution and a 4% powdered milk solution to determine food preferences. Differences in food consumption of infected and control flies likely represents differences in the nutritional requirements of flies resulting from viral infection. As expected, healthy females with developing ovaries continued to consume a sugar and protein diet while infected females fed predominantly on a sugar diet. Both sexes of flies infected with MdSGHV consumed significantly lower quantities of both protein and sucrose than flies injected with a sterile saline solution, suggesting that this virus has a hunger (i.e., anorexic effect) or starvation effect on its host.