论文题目：Discovery of a novel double-stranded DNA virus associated with ant labial gland disease reveals its long-term interaction with ants
论文作者：Shengqiang Jiang#, Liangliang Zhang#, Xingyu Guo, Jianchao Li, Jing Hu, Hong He*, Hongying Chen*
论文摘要：
Large double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) viruses have been shown to have a wide host range in insects. However, their infection in ants has not yet been described. In this study, we report the identification of a novel filamentous virus, Camponotus japonicus labial gland disease virus (CjLGDV), from the enlarged labial glands of Camponotus japonicus. Transmission electron microscopy revealed numerous non-enveloped nucleocapsids in the nuclei and enveloped envelopment intermediates in the cytoplasm of infected gland cells. Genome sequencing analysis showed that CjLGDV possesses a circular dsDNA genome of 142 kb. Comparative analysis identified a closely related virus from Anoplolepis gracilipes, which was named Anoplolepis gracilipes labial gland disease virus (AgLGDV). CjLGDV and AgLGDV have common genomic characteristics and key conserved genes with the viral members in the order Lefavirales, class Naldaviricetes, as well as additional genes uniquely shared with Apis mellifera filamentous virus (AmFV) and AmFV-like virus (AmFLV). Phylogenetic analysis places CjLGDV and AgLGDV in a distinct lineage within Naldaviricetes, probably representing two members of a novel virus family distantly related to AmFV and AmFLV. By mining public databases, LGDV-related endogenous viral elements were identified in the genomes of multiple ant species, suggesting widespread viral gene integration and a deep evolutionary association between these viruses and their ant hosts. Collectively, our findings reveal a previously unrecognized group of ant-infecting viruses that represents a new viral family within the order Lefavirales, class Naldaviricetes.
大型双链 DNA病毒在昆虫中具有广泛的宿主范围，但其对蚂蚁的感染情况此前尚未见报道。本研究从日本弓背蚁肿大的唇腺中，鉴定出一种新型丝状病毒，并将其命名为日本弓背蚁唇腺疾病病毒（CjLGDV）。透射电子显微镜观察显示，受感染的腺细胞细胞核内存在大量无包膜核衣壳，细胞质内则存在包膜形成中间体。基因组测序分析表明，CjLGDV 拥有一个长度为 142kb 的环状双链 DNA 基因组。通过比较分析，从细足捷蚁中发现了一种与其亲缘关系密切的病毒，将其命名为细足捷蚁唇腺疾病病毒（AgLGDV）。CjLGDV 与 AgLGDV 具备Naldaviricetes病毒纲Lefavirales病毒目病毒成员共有的基因组特征及关键保守基因，同时还拥有与未明确分类地位的蜜蜂丝状病毒AmFV和AmFLV独有的共享基因。系统发育分析显示，CjLGDV 与 AgLGDV 在Naldaviricete中形成一个独立分支，这两种病毒代表了一个与 AmFV和AmFLV 亲缘关系较远的新病毒科的两个成员。通过挖掘公共数据库，在多种蚂蚁的基因组中鉴定出与LGDV相关的内源性病毒元件，这表明病毒基因的整合现象广泛存在，且这类病毒与其蚂蚁宿主之间存在深厚的进化关联。综上，本研究发现了一类此前未被认知的感染蚂蚁的新型病毒，这类病毒归属于Naldaviricete病毒纲Lefavirales病毒目中的一个新的病毒科。
论文链接：https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jvi.01178-25