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.
Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis 95616.
B F
BF
McCutchen
P V
PV
Choudary
R
R
Crenshaw
D
D
Maddox
S G
SG
Kamita
N
N
Palekar
S
S
Volrath
E
E
Fowler
B D
BD
Hammock
S
S
Maeda
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