Converging lines of evidence fail to detect nanovirus replication in its insect vector
- 1PHIM, INRAE, CIRAD, IRD, Institut Agro, Univ Montpellier, Montpellier, France
- 2CBS, INSERM, CNRS, Univ Montpellier, Montpellier, France
- 3MIVEGEC, CNRS, IRD, Univ Montpellier, Montpellier, France
Abstract
Nanoviruses have a multipartite circular ssDNA genome and are transmitted by aphids in a circulative manner. Although generally considered non-propagative within their vectors, direct experimental evidence supporting the absence of viral replication remains limited. This question is particularly relevant for multipartite viruses because replication within vectors could theoretically help maintain genome integrity during transmission, decreasing dilution effects and the probability of genome segment loss. Here, we investigated whether faba bean necrotic stunt virus (FBNSV, genus Nanovirus , family Nanoviridae ) replicates in aphids using several independent approaches. Viral load dynamics were quantitative PCR-monitored after virus acquisition, the replication-associated protein M-Rep was searched for within gut and salivary gland cells by immunofluorescence, viral DNA localization and strand specificity were analysed using HCR-DNA-FISH (hybridization chain reaction fluorescence in situ hybridization) and confocal microscopy, viral transcription was investigated by Illumina mRNA sequencing, and viral DNA replication was analysed by Nanopore sequencing. All approaches converged towards the same conclusion. Viral loads did not increase after acquisition, M-Rep was undetectable in aphid tissues, viral DNA accumulated outside nuclei, no negative-strand viral DNA was detected, and only negligible quantities of viral transcripts and dsDNA molecules were detected in RNA-seq and Nanopore-seq datasets from viruliferous aphids, although these molecules were readily detected in FBNSV-infected plants used as the acquisition source. While none of these approaches could alone suffice to definitely exclude a weak, localized and/or transient replication, they together strongly support the conclusion that FBNSV is transmitted in a genuinely circulative non-propagative manner.
Related
- Replication-Enhanced Detection of Quantitative Traits Evolving Adaptively (REDQuanTEA): an improved statistical framework to detect locally adaptive traits
- Do God Primes Prime God? Converging Evidence Against the Efficacy of Experimental Religious Priming
- Morphological analysis when morphemes are hard to detect: Evidence from infixation and reduplication.
- Triangulating evidence to detect signatures of stabilizing selection acting on protein levels in humans
- Insect-derived bioactives for sustainable functional food development: evidence, limitations and translational insights from established natural sources
BibTeX
@article{pietro2026converging,
title = {{Converging lines of evidence fail to detect nanovirus replication in its insect vector}},
author = {Laura Di Pietro and Mathilde Villegas and Auguste Rajot and Nina Lukhovitskaya and Valentin Guyot and François Hoh and Yasmine Tiberbache and Jean-Louis Zeddam and Yannis Michalakis and Mikhail M. Pooggin and Stéphane Blanc},
journal = {Journal of General Virology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1099/jgv.0.002354},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05844983v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Converging lines of evidence fail to detect nanovirus replication in its insect vector
AU - Laura Di Pietro
AU - Mathilde Villegas
AU - Auguste Rajot
AU - Nina Lukhovitskaya
AU - Valentin Guyot
AU - François Hoh
AU - Yasmine Tiberbache
AU - Jean-Louis Zeddam
AU - Yannis Michalakis
AU - Mikhail M. Pooggin
AU - Stéphane Blanc
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/27
JO - Journal of General Virology
DO - 10.1099/jgv.0.002354
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05844983v1
AB - Nanoviruses have a multipartite circular ssDNA genome and are transmitted by aphids in a circulative manner. Although generally considered non-propagative within their vectors, direct experimental evidence supporting the absence of viral replication remains limited. This question is particularly relevant for multipartite viruses because replication within vectors could theoretically help maintain genome integrity during transmission, decreasing dilution effects and the probability of genome segment loss. Here, we investigated whether faba bean necrotic stunt virus (FBNSV, genus Nanovirus , family Nanoviridae ) replicates in aphids using several independent approaches. Viral load dynamics were quantitative PCR-monitored after virus acquisition, the replication-associated protein M-Rep was searched for within gut and salivary gland cells by immunofluorescence, viral DNA localization and strand specificity were analysed using HCR-DNA-FISH (hybridization chain reaction fluorescence in situ hybridization) and confocal microscopy, viral transcription was investigated by Illumina mRNA sequencing, and viral DNA replication was analysed by Nanopore sequencing. All approaches converged towards the same conclusion. Viral loads did not increase after acquisition, M-Rep was undetectable in aphid tissues, viral DNA accumulated outside nuclei, no negative-strand viral DNA was detected, and only negligible quantities of viral transcripts and dsDNA molecules were detected in RNA-seq and Nanopore-seq datasets from viruliferous aphids, although these molecules were readily detected in FBNSV-infected plants used as the acquisition source. While none of these approaches could alone suffice to definitely exclude a weak, localized and/or transient replication, they together strongly support the conclusion that FBNSV is transmitted in a genuinely circulative non-propagative manner.
SN - 0022-1317
SN - 1465-2099
ER -