Persistence of invertebrate iridescent virus 6 in soil

Soil represents an important reservoir for most entomopathogenic viruses. Invertebrate iridescent viruses (IIVs) (Iridoviridae) are non-occluded DNA viruses that infect agriculturally and medically important insect species, especially in damp or aquatic habitats. We used virus extraction and insect bioassay techniques to determine the effect of soil moisture and soil sterility on the persistence of Invertebrate iridescent virus 6 (IIV-6) in a soil over a 90 day period in the laboratory. Loss of activity of IIV-6 in dry soil (6.4% moisture, −1000 kPa matric potential) was very rapid and was not studied beyond 24 h. Soil moisture did not affect the rate of inactivation of virus in damp (17% moisture, −114 kPa matric potential) or wet soil (37%moisture,−9.0 kPa matric potential). In contrast, soil sterilization significantly improved the persistence of IIV-6 activity, both in damp and wet soil. Control virus suspensions retained 0.72-0.87% of original activity after 90 days, which was significantly more than the activity retained in soil. These figures represent half lives of 4.9 days for IIV-6 in non-sterile soil, 6.3 days in sterilized soil (data pooled for moisture treatments), and 12.9 days for the control virus suspension. We conclude that extra-host persistence in soil habitats may be an important aspect of the ecology of IIVs.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Reyes, Angela, Christian, Peter autor/a, Valle Mora, Javier Francisco Maestro autor/a 10513, Williams, Trevor Doctor autor/a 5446
Format:	Texto biblioteca
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Virus iridiscente de invertebrados 6, Iridovirus, Humedad de suelos, Galleria mellonella,
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