Biochemical and biological characterization of four isolates of Spodoptera exigua nuclear polyhedrosis virus

Abstract
Biological and biochemical properties of four nuclear polyhedrosis virus isolates from beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua, were investigated. The isolates originated from the United States (SeNPV‐US), Thailand (SeNPV‐TH) and from two locations in Spain (SeNPV‐SP1 and SeNPV‐SP2). Restriction endonuclease analysis of the viral genomes revealed limited restriction fragment length polymorphism and indicated that these viruses contained distinct, but closely related, genotypes (variants). One BglII fragment from each isolate can serve as a restriction fragment length polymorphism marker for the identification of each isolate. The estimated genome size of the SeNPVs is approximately 134 kilobase pairs. The mobility profiles of the occluded virion polypeptides and polyhedrins of the four SeNPV isolates were very similar. Staphylococcus aureus V8 digestion of polyhedrin suggested that the polyhedrin from SeNPV‐US is distinct from the polyhedrins of the other isolates. Bioassays of the isolates in second‐instar S. exigua larvae showed that the SeNPV‐TH was the most potent SeNPV for beet armyworm with an LD50 value of only 1.5 polyhedra per second‐instar larva.

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