Spore Dimorphism and Some Other Biological Features of a Nosema sp. Isolated from the Lawn Grass Cutworm, Spodoptera depravata Butler

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Abstract
A microsporidian isolated from the lawn grass cutworm, Spodoptera depravata Butler had two nuclei in diplokaryotic arrangement throughout its development. A sporont gave rise to two spores, and there was no sporophorous vesicle. This microsporidium produced two types of spores, those with 2 to 3 coils and those with 11 to 12 coils of the polar tube during development in Antheraea eucalypti cells. Larvae of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, were not infected by the microsporidium when the spores were administered perorally. Spores of the predominant type, with 11 to 12 polar tube coils, were longer and narrower than those of the corresponding spores of Nosema bombycis. Furthermore they did not react with latex particles, which had been sensitized with a monoclonal antibody against spores of N. bombycis, another isolate of Nosema (M11) or an isolate of Vairimorpha (M12). The new isolate is distinct from N. bombycis and is the second species to be isolated from S. depravata.