Journal of Medical Entomology (2021) 58, 880-890

Daisuke Kobayashi, Mamoru Watanabe, Astri Nur Faizah, Michael Amoa-Bosompem, Yukiko Higa, Yoshio Tsuda, Kyoko Sawabe and Haruhiko Isawa (2021)
Discovery of a novel flavivirus (Flaviviridae) from the horse fly, Tabanus rufidens (Diptera: Tabanidae): The possible coevolutionary relationships between the classical insect-specific flaviviruses and host Dipteran insects
Journal of Medical Entomology 58 (2), 880-890
Abstract: Tabanid flies (Tabanidae: Diptera) are common hematophagous insects known to transmit some pathogens mechanically or biologically to animals; they are widely distributed throughout the world. However, no tabanid-borne viruses, except mechanically transmitted viruses, have been reported to date. In this study, we conducted RNA virome analysis of several human-biting tabanid species in Japan, to discover and characterize viruses associated with tabanids. A novel flavivirus was encountered during the study in the Japanese horse fly, Tabanus rufidens (Bigot, 1887). The virus was detected only in T. rufidens, but not in other tabanid species, and as such was designated Tabanus rufidens flavivirus (TrFV). TrFV could not be isolated using a mammalian cell line and showed a closer phylogenetic relationship to the classical insect-specific flaviviruses (cISFs) rather than the vertebrate-infecting flaviviruses (VIFs), suggesting that it is a novel member of the cISFs. The first discovery of a cISF from Brachycera provides new insight into the evolutionary history and dynamics of flaviviruses.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Yoshio Tsuda

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Tabanus rufidens		Japan
Flaviviridae (insect-specific)	Tabanus rufidens		Japan