Experimental infection of crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus) with an invertebrate iridovirus isolated from a high-casqued chameleon (Chamaeleo hoehnelii)

Invertebrate iridoviruses (IIV) have been a regular problem for insect breeders. They have also recently been isolated from various lizard species. An iridovirus isolated from several tissues of a high-casqued chameleon (Chamaeleo hoehnelii) was identified as an IIV on the basis of electron microscopy (EM), sequencing of a portion of the major capsid protein (MCP) gene, and restriction endonuclease analysis of viral DNA. The pathogenicity of this isolate for crickets of the species Gryllus bimaculatus was tested by using 3 experimental infection studies. The mortality rates in the infected crickets ranged between 20% and 35%. The fat bodies of the crickets were examined on cell culture, with a nested PCR targeting the MCP gene, histologically, with in situ hybridization and by EM. Nested PCR was the most sensitive method for detecting IIV in the fat-body samples. Virus was re-isolated from several fat-body samples. In some fat bodies of infected crickets, massive arrays of viruses could be detected by EM. These findings support the hypothesis that IIV from insects are able to infect reptiles.