Exploring Virus Diversity in the Potato leafhopper (Empoasca fabae), an Economically Important Agricultural Pest

• Published in: Viruses Vol. 16; no. 8; p. 1305
• Main Authors: Thekke-Veetil, Thanuja, Lagos-Kutz, Doris, Domier, Leslie L., McCoppin, Nancy K., Hartman, Glen L., Clough, Steven J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 16.08.2024; MDPI
• Subjects: Agricultural economics; Ambidensovirus; Animals; arthropods; Barley; Crops, Agricultural - virology; DNA viruses; DNA Viruses - classification; DNA Viruses - genetics; DNA Viruses - isolation & purification; Economic importance; Empoasca fabae; family; Genetic aspects; Genetic Variation; genome; Genome, Viral; Genomes; Hemiptera - virology; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; Identification and classification; Iflavirus; Illinois; Indiana; Insect Vectors - virology; insect viruses; Insect Viruses - classification; Insect Viruses - genetics; Insect Viruses - isolation & purification; Insects; Iowa; Libraries; Minnesota; Next-generation sequencing; Nucleotide sequence; Pests; Phylogeny; Physiological aspects; Plant Diseases - parasitology; Plant Diseases - virology; Plant viruses; Plant Viruses - classification; Plant Viruses - genetics; Plant Viruses - isolation & purification; Population studies; potato leafhopper; Red clover; RNA; RNA polymerase; RNA viruses; RNA Viruses - classification; RNA Viruses - genetics; RNA Viruses - isolation & purification; Solanum tuberosum - parasitology; Solanum tuberosum - virology; Soybeans; vector-enabled transcriptomics; Veins & arteries; viral metatranscriptomics; virus diversity; Viruses; Winter; United States; Iowa; Minnesota; Indiana; United States > US; Illinois; potato leafhopper; Empoasca fabae; vector-enabled transcriptomics; viral metatranscriptomics; virus diversity; insect viruses
• ISSN: 1999-4915; 1999-4915
• DOI: 10.3390/v16081305

The potato leafhopper (Empoasca fabae, PLH) is a serious pest that feeds on a wide range of agricultural crops and is found throughout the United States but is not known to be a vector for plant-infecting viruses. We probed the diversity of virus sequences in field populations of PLH collected from four Midwestern states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Minnesota. High-throughput sequencing data from total RNAs extracted from PLH were used to assemble sequences of fifteen positive-stranded RNA viruses, two negative-stranded RNA viruses, and one DNA virus. These sequences included ten previously described plant viruses and eight putative insect-infecting viruses. All but one of the insect-specific viruses were novel and included three solemoviruses, one iflavirus, one phenuivirus, one lispivirus, and one ambidensovirus. Detailed analyses of the novel genome sequences and their evolutionary relationships with related family members were conducted. Our study revealed a diverse group of plant viruses circulating in the PLH population and discovered novel insect viruses, expanding knowledge on the untapped virus diversity in economically important crop pests. Our findings also highlight the importance of monitoring the emergence and circulation of plant-infecting viruses in agriculturally important arthropod pests.