Distinct viromes of thrips vectors: Comparing Neohydatothrips variabilis and Franklinella fusca

Two important orthotospoviruses in Alabama include soybean vein necrosis virus (SVNV) and tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV). TSWV presents a problem in peanuts, while SVNV infects soybeans but has low reported yield losses. In addition to peanuts, TSWV has over a thousand plant hosts and nine insect vectors, whereas SVNV has eleven reported plant hosts and three insect vectors. Belonging to Bunyaviridae, they are ambisense ssRNA viruses and consist of five open reading frames (ORFs), including N (nucleocapsid protein), NSs (silencing suppressor protein), NSm (putative movement protein), GN, and GC (glycoproteins), and L (RNA-dependent RNA polymerase protein). This study compares their insect vectors, Neohydatothrips variabilis (SVNV) and Franklinella fusca (TSWV), and other viruses they carry. Multiple populations of each species were collected from the field, the RNA extracted, and RNA-Seq was performed with two goals. One way to identify the sequences of TSWV and SVNV in their insect hosts is to The second goal was to identify additional viruses that were present and that may interact with either SVNV or TSWV. When comparing their insect vectors, no viruses were shared between the two thrips species. However, as expected, each virus, either TSWV or SVNV, was found in its respective insect vector. A total of 14 viruses were found in Neohydatothrips variabilis, and 25 viruses were identified in Franklinella fusca, with most viruses found to be potential insect viruses. These studies have provided additional insights about the types of viruses in the field ecosystem in Alabama.