Japan has only three registered baculovirus biopesticides despite its long history of studies on insect viruses. High production cost is one of the main hindrances for practical use of baculoviruses. Enhancement of insecticidal effect is one possible way to overcome this problem, so there have been many attempts to develop additives for baculoviruses. We found that alkaline soluble proteins of ...

A co-occluded binary mixture of Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus genotypes HearSP1B and HearLB6 at a 1:1 ratio (HearSP1B+HearLB6) was selected for the development of a virus-based biological insecticide, which requires an efficient large-scale production system. In vivo production systems require optimization studies in each host-virus pathosystem. In the present study, the effects of ...

Stilbene-derived optical brighteners can markedly enhance the insecticidal activity of certain baculoviruses. We evaluated the influence of an optical brightener on the rate at which Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) developed resistance to nucleopolyhedrovirus (SfMNPV). Two laboratory colonies of S. frugiperda were inoculated with an LC50 of SfMNPV, in the absence or ...

A restriction fragment library which covered the entire genome of Bombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus (BmNPV) was constructed using plasmid vectors. By analysis of cloned and viral DNA by double digestion with endonucleases and by hybridization techniques, a complete physical map of BmNPV was constructed for BamHI, EcoRI, HindIII, KpnI, PstI and SmaI. Five regions of repeated sequences conta...

The life cycle of the Lymantria dispar nuclear polyhedrosis virus (LdMNPV) was characterized through analysis of budded virus (BV) release, the temporal formation of polyhedra, the temporal transcription pattern of representative early, late, and hyper-expressed late genes, and the onset of DNA replication in the Ld652Y cell line. Transcripts from the LdMNPV immediate early gene G22 were detect...

Binding studies using (125)I-Cry1Ac and biotinylated Cry1Fa toxins indicate the occurrence of a common receptor for Cry1Ac, Cry1Fa, and Cry1Ja in Helicoverpa armigera, Helicoverpa zea, and Spodoptera exigua. Our results, along with previous binding data and the observed cases of cross-resistance, suggest that this pattern seems to be widespread among lepidopteran species.

The genome of Buzura suppressaria nucleopolyhedrovirus (BusuNPV) was sequenced by 454 pyrosequencing technology. The size of the genome is 120,420 bp with 36.8% G+C content. It contains 127 hypothetical open reading frames (ORFs) covering 90.7% of the genome and includes the 37 conserved baculovirus core genes, 84 genes found in other baculoviruses, and 6 unique ORFs. No typical baculoviral hom...

The hycu-ep32 gene of Hyphantria cunea NPV can inhibit Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) multiplication in co-infected cells, but it is not known whether the overexpression of the hycu-ep32 gene has an antiviral effect in the silkworm, Bombyx mori. Thus, we constructed four transgenic vectors, which were under the control of the 39 K promoter of BmNPV (39 KP), Bombyx mori A4 promoter (A4...

Thysanoplusia orichalcea multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (ThorMNPV) has high virulence to Trichoplusia ni and Pseudoplusia includens larvae, with a potential for biological control of insect pests. The genome of ThorMNPV was sequenced and found to be 132,978 bp, with a G+C content of 37.9%. There are 145 predicted open reading frames (ORFs), encoding proteins of 50 or more amino acid residues wit...

The granulovirus of Cydia pomonella (L.) (CpGV) offers potential for selective control of codling moth. Two major limitations of CpGV are its narrow host range and lack of persistence in the orchard agroecosystem. The nucleopolyhedroviruses of the alfalfa looper Autographa californica (Speyer) (AcMNPV) and those of the celery looper Anagrapha falcifera (Kirby) (AfMNPV) have broad host ranges. C...