[Source]
A team of scientists at Minami Kyushu University in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan, serendipitously stumbled upon a virus that specifically targets male insects – a breakthrough that holds promising potential for controlling populations of disease-carrying insects like mosquitoes in the future.
A serendipitous find: The unexpected discovery of the virus, christened Spodoptera litura male-killing virus (SLMKV), came about after research technician Misato Terao found a green caterpillar, identified as a tobacco cutworm, feeding on impatiens in the university’s greenhouse, as reported by The New York Times.
Instead of disposing of the intruder, Misato brought the caterpillar to the university’s insect physiologist, Yoshinori Shintani, who decided to use it as a feeder for other insects.
An astonishing revelation: Several days later, Yoshinori discovered that the caterpillar had spawned 50 female moths, much to his surprise.
Curious about this unusual occurrence, Yoshinori proceeded to mate these female moths from the greenhouse with male moths from his home. After a series of breeding, he observed that only three males were born from the 13 generations of moths.
Armed with this new knowledge, Yoshinori and his colleague Daisuke Kageyama from the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization in Japan, theorized that they had encountered a “male killer” among their insects.
Diving deeper: Following an experiment to decipher the cause of this phenomenon, the group concluded that they were dealing with a virus, as genetic analysis revealed telltale signs of viral presence. Their attempt to counteract the “male-killing” effect with antibiotics proved futile, as the treatment only targets bacteria.
According to The New York Times, only two types of male-killing viruses have been documented, suggesting that SKLMV might have evolved independently.
The scientists noted that the maternally inherited virus they uncovered belonged to the Partitiviridae family, raising the question of whether male-killing viruses are exclusive to Partitiviridae or if they are present in other taxa.
They also found SLMKV to be infectious and heritable, as evidenced by infected tobacco moths generating a higher female population in the subsequent generations, with no males being produced thereafter.
Unveiling the news: Subsequent to their discovery, Yoshinori, Daisuke, Misato, and other researchers detailed their findings in a published study in The Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences (PNAS) on Monday.
Promising implications: This recent breakthrough could potentially aid in controlling the population of agricultural pests related to tobacco worms.
Furthermore, this discovery is a step forward in the pursuit of finding a “female killer” that could prove beneficial in managing disease-carrying insects like mosquitoes.
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