Development of a recombinant baculovirus expressing an insect-selective neurotoxin: potential for pest control.
Recombinant nuclear polyhedrosis viruses (NPVs) expressing insect-selective toxins, hormones, or enzymes could enhance their insecticidal properties. We have constructed a recombinant, polyhedrin-positive Autographa californica NPV (AcNPV) that is orally infectious and expresses an insect-selective toxin (AaIT), isolated from the scorpion Androctonus australis, under the control of the p10 promoter. Bioassays with the recombinant baculovirus on 2nd instar larvae of Heliothis virescens demonstrated a significant decrease in the time to kill (LT50 88.0 hours) compared to wild-type AcNPV (LT50 125 hours). Production of AaIT was confirmed by western blot analysis of larval hemolymph from infected H. virescens, and bioassays with larvae of Sarcophaga falculata.
McCutchen
B F
BF
Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis 95616.
Choudary
P V
PV
Crenshaw
R
R
Maddox
D
D
Kamita
S G
SG
Palekar
N
N
Volrath
S
S
Fowler
E
E
Hammock
B D
BD
Maeda
S
S
D000818:Animals; D016367:Baculoviridae / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007814:Larva / Q000187:drug effects; D007915:Lepidoptera / Q000187:drug effects*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009498:Neurotoxins; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes; D010571:Pest Control / Q000379:methods*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D012604:Scorpion Venoms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D014162:Transfection
D009498:Neurotoxins; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012604:Scorpion Venoms