Evaluating the Effect of Irradiation on the Densities of Two RNA Viruses in Glossina morsitans morsitans

Tsetse flies are cyclic vectors of Trypanosoma parasites, which cause debilitating diseases in humans and animals. To decrease the disease burden, the number of flies is reduced using the sterile insect technique (SIT), where male flies are sterilized through irradiation and released into the field....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Insects (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2023-04, Vol.14 (4), p.397
Main Authors: Mirieri, Caroline K, Abd-Alla, Adly M M, Ros, Vera I D, van Oers, Monique M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Dosimetry
Exocrine glands
Females
Fertility
Flies
Genomes
Glossina
Glossina morsitans morsitans
Health services
Hypoxia
iflavirus
Infections
Insects
Ionizing radiation
Irradiation
Laboratories
Males
Mass rearing
Mating
Muscidae
negevirus
Parasites
Pest control
Radiation
Radiation tolerance
RNA viruses
sterile insect technique
Sterilization
Sterilized organisms
Trypanosoma
tsetse
Vectors
Viral infections
Viruses
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Summary:Tsetse flies are cyclic vectors of Trypanosoma parasites, which cause debilitating diseases in humans and animals. To decrease the disease burden, the number of flies is reduced using the sterile insect technique (SIT), where male flies are sterilized through irradiation and released into the field. This procedure requires the mass rearing of high-quality male flies able to compete with wild male flies for mating with wild females. Recently, two RNA viruses, an iflavirus and a negevirus, were discovered in mass-reared and named GmmIV and GmmNegeV, respectively. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the densities of these viruses in tsetse flies are affected by the irradiation treatment. Therefore, we exposed tsetse pupae to various doses (0-150 Gy) of ionizing radiation, either in air (normoxia) or without air (hypoxia), for which oxygen was displaced by nitrogen. Pupae and/or emerging flies were collected immediately afterwards, and at three days post irradiation, virus densities were quantified through RT-qPCR. Generally, the results show that irradiation exposure had no significant impact on the densities of GmmIV and GmmNegeV, suggesting that the viruses are relatively radiation-resistant, even at higher doses. However, sampling over a longer period after irradiation would be needed to verify that densities of these insect viruses are not changed by the sterilisation treatment.
ISSN:2075-4450
2075-4450
DOI:10.3390/insects14040397