![]() ![]() Many different techniques have been tried out in an attempt to rid the island of these beetles but, until last year, were largely unsuccessful in making a negative impact on the rhinoceros beetle population. This provides plenty of dead palms for the beetle larvae to feed on, allowing the life cycle to continue. The adults bore into the trees to breed as they bore through the growing points of the trees, new leaves can’t be produced so the trees die. The beetles, which are native to south and southeast Asia, have devastating effects on palm trees at each stage of their life cycle. It is now present in many parts of the island and, as coconuts are an important economic commodity for the US territory, is high priority for removal. Over the past five years it has caused severe damage to coconut palms, although its initial spread was slowed by the quick reactions of the government. The coconut rhinoceros beetle ( Oryctes rhinoceros) was first discovered in Guam on 11th September 2007. The Guam Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle Eradication Project has finally found a technique that could bring them their own eradication success story. It takes a large combined effort to successfully eradicate a plant pest. ![]() OrNV Oryctes rhinoceros nudivirus Oryctes rhinoceros nudivirus (OrNV) South Pacific Islands biological control coconut rhinoceros beetle genomic variation viral transcriptome.Ĭopyright © 2020 American Society for Microbiology.The coconut rhinoceros beetle has damaged many palm trees in Guam © Peter Lillywhite, Museum Victoria, Pests and Diseases Image Library (CC BY 3.0 license) These findings provide valuable resources for future studies to improve our understanding of the OrNV genetic variations in different geographic regions and their potential link to virus pathogenicity. A high number of polymorphic sites among several geographical strains of OrNV were identified, but potentially only a few of these variations in the genome are involved in functional changes and can potentially alter the typical function. We examined viral genomic and transcriptional variations in chronically infected beetles from different geographical populations. It has been suggested that the resurgence and spread of the pest are related to the presence of low-virulence isolates of OrNV or virus-tolerant haplotypes of beetles. The recent outbreak of these beetles in many South Pacific islands has had a significant impact on livelihoods in the region. IMPORTANCE Oryctes rhinoceros nudivirus has been an effective biocontrol agent against the coconut rhinoceros beetle in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands for decades. Some of these genomic changes are specific to the geographic population and could be related to particular phenotypic characteristics of the strain, such as viral pathogenicity or transmissibility, and this requires further investigation. Additionally, small RNA sequencing from the SI population suggested that OrNV is targeted by the host RNA interference (RNAi) response with abundant 21-nucleotide small RNAs. Only a few genes, such as gp01, gp022, and gp107, were differentially expressed among different strains. ![]() Nonsynonymous mutations were detected in several hypothetical proteins and 15 nudivirus core genes, such as gp034, lef-8, lef-4, and vp91 We found limited evidence of variation in viral gene expression among geographic populations. We detected several polymorphic sites with a frequency higher than 35% in 892 positions of the viral genome. ![]() Maximum likelihood phylogenic analysis indicated that OrNV strains from the SI and Philippines are closely related, while OrNV strains from PNG and Fiji formed a distinct adjacent clade. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed to investigate the global viral gene expression profiles and for comparative genomic analysis of structural variations. In this study, chronically infected beetles were collected from Philippines, Fiji, Papua New Guinea (PNG), and the Solomon Islands (SI). rhinoceros incursions in Oceania is thought to be related to the presence of low-virulence isolates of OrNV or virus-tolerant haplotypes of beetles. Oryctes rhinoceros nudivirus (OrNV) is a double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) virus which has been used as a biocontrol agent to suppress the coconut rhinoceros beetle ( Oryctes rhinoceros) in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. ![]()
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