ABSTRACT
The family Nodaviridae is composed of insect small icosahedral riboviruses which contain a bipartite genome. The Arkansas bee virus proposed as a possible member of the Nodaviridae was in fact contaminated by a distinct and not related virus, the Berkeley bee picornavirus. The size of the Nodaviridae particles range from 29 to 32 nm. Regarding the diameters, Nodaviridae are undistinguishable from the insect picornaviruses but distinct from Nudau-relia-fi. Only fragmentary information on the in vivo histopathology or morphogenesis of the Nodaviridae is available, even though the virus produces visible pathology. The pathogenesis and morphogenesis of Nodamura virus (NV) are quite similar in mice or in the lepidopteran G. mellonella infected tissues. Indeed NV replicates well in both insect and mammalian cells whereas FHV recently was shown to replicate in plant cells. NV multiplies without apparent effect in swine, mosquitoes, ticks, and the moth Plodia interpunctella, and can be transmitted to mice by Aedes aegypti.
