Endogenous Viral Elements in Ixodid Tick Genomes
The documentation of endogenous viral elements (EVEs; virus-derived genetic material integrated into the genome of a nonviral host) has offered insights into how arthropods respond to viral infection via RNA interference pathways. Small non-coding RNAs derived from EVE loci serve to direct RNAi path...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-10-01
|
| Series: | Viruses |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/15/11/2201 |
| _version_ | 1827638615962812416 |
|---|---|
| author | Miranda Barnes Dana C. Price |
| author_facet | Miranda Barnes Dana C. Price |
| author_sort | Miranda Barnes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The documentation of endogenous viral elements (EVEs; virus-derived genetic material integrated into the genome of a nonviral host) has offered insights into how arthropods respond to viral infection via RNA interference pathways. Small non-coding RNAs derived from EVE loci serve to direct RNAi pathways in limiting replication and infection from cognate viruses, thus benefiting the host’s fitness and, potentially, vectorial capacity. Here we use informatic approaches to analyze nine available genome sequences of hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae; <i>Rhipicephalus sanguineus</i>, <i>R. microplus</i>, <i>R. annulatus</i>, <i>Ixodes ricinus</i>, <i>I. persulcatus</i>, <i>I. scapularis</i>, <i>Hyalomma asiaticum</i>, <i>Haemaphysalis longicornis</i>, and <i>Dermacentor silvarum</i>) to identify endogenous viral elements and to illustrate the shared ancestry of all elements identified. Our results highlight a broad diversity of viral taxa as having given rise to 1234 identified EVEs in ticks, with <i>Mononegavirales</i> (specifically <i>Rhabdoviridae</i>) well-represented in this subset of hard ticks. Further investigation revealed extensive adintovirus integrations in several <i>Ixodes</i> species, the prevalence of <i>Bunyavirales</i> EVEs (notably not observed in mosquitoes), and the presence of several elements similar to known emerging human and veterinary pathogens. These results will inform subsequent work on current and past associations with tick species with regard to the viruses from which their “viral fossils” are derived and may serve as a reference for quality control of various tick-omics data that may suffer from misidentification of EVEs as viral genetic material. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:22:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5d28c8dd54cc48d3bcd6dafd178653c9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4915 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:22:37Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Viruses |
| spelling | doaj.art-5d28c8dd54cc48d3bcd6dafd178653c92023-11-24T15:10:46ZengMDPI AGViruses1999-49152023-10-011511220110.3390/v15112201Endogenous Viral Elements in Ixodid Tick GenomesMiranda Barnes0Dana C. Price1Center for Vector Biology, Department of Entomology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USACenter for Vector Biology, Department of Entomology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USAThe documentation of endogenous viral elements (EVEs; virus-derived genetic material integrated into the genome of a nonviral host) has offered insights into how arthropods respond to viral infection via RNA interference pathways. Small non-coding RNAs derived from EVE loci serve to direct RNAi pathways in limiting replication and infection from cognate viruses, thus benefiting the host’s fitness and, potentially, vectorial capacity. Here we use informatic approaches to analyze nine available genome sequences of hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae; <i>Rhipicephalus sanguineus</i>, <i>R. microplus</i>, <i>R. annulatus</i>, <i>Ixodes ricinus</i>, <i>I. persulcatus</i>, <i>I. scapularis</i>, <i>Hyalomma asiaticum</i>, <i>Haemaphysalis longicornis</i>, and <i>Dermacentor silvarum</i>) to identify endogenous viral elements and to illustrate the shared ancestry of all elements identified. Our results highlight a broad diversity of viral taxa as having given rise to 1234 identified EVEs in ticks, with <i>Mononegavirales</i> (specifically <i>Rhabdoviridae</i>) well-represented in this subset of hard ticks. Further investigation revealed extensive adintovirus integrations in several <i>Ixodes</i> species, the prevalence of <i>Bunyavirales</i> EVEs (notably not observed in mosquitoes), and the presence of several elements similar to known emerging human and veterinary pathogens. These results will inform subsequent work on current and past associations with tick species with regard to the viruses from which their “viral fossils” are derived and may serve as a reference for quality control of various tick-omics data that may suffer from misidentification of EVEs as viral genetic material.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/15/11/2201endogenous viral elementsticks<i>Ixodes</i>paleovirologyarthropod viruses<i>Bunyavirales</i> |
| spellingShingle | Miranda Barnes Dana C. Price Endogenous Viral Elements in Ixodid Tick Genomes Viruses endogenous viral elements ticks <i>Ixodes</i> paleovirology arthropod viruses <i>Bunyavirales</i> |
| title | Endogenous Viral Elements in Ixodid Tick Genomes |
| title_full | Endogenous Viral Elements in Ixodid Tick Genomes |
| title_fullStr | Endogenous Viral Elements in Ixodid Tick Genomes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Endogenous Viral Elements in Ixodid Tick Genomes |
| title_short | Endogenous Viral Elements in Ixodid Tick Genomes |
| title_sort | endogenous viral elements in ixodid tick genomes |
| topic | endogenous viral elements ticks <i>Ixodes</i> paleovirology arthropod viruses <i>Bunyavirales</i> |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/15/11/2201 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mirandabarnes endogenousviralelementsinixodidtickgenomes AT danacprice endogenousviralelementsinixodidtickgenomes |