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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Invasive Insect Biocontrol & Behavior Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #418637
Research Project: Sustainable Insect Pest Management for Urban Agriculture and Landscapes

Location: Invasive Insect Biocontrol & Behavior Laboratory

Title: When baculoviruses jump hosts: An alphabaculovirus from the zebra caterpillar, Melanchra picta Harris, is an isolate of species Alphabaculovirus maconfiguratae

Author
item Harrison, Robert - Bob
item Francoeur, Charlotte
item Rowley, Daniel

Submitted to: Journal of Invertebrate Pathology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/10/2024
Publication Date: 10/12/2024
Citation: Harrison, R.L., Francoeur, C.B., Rowley, D.L. 2024. When baculoviruses jump hosts: An alphabaculovirus from the zebra caterpillar, Melanchra picta Harris, is an isolate of species Alphabaculovirus maconfiguratae. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology. 207. Article e108220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jip.2024.108220.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jip.2024.108220

Interpretive Summary: The zebra caterpillar is a moth pest that can damage vegetable crops in the Pacific Northwest when larvae of the moth are numerous. Baculoviruses are natural disease-causing agents of moth larvae that have been formulated as environmentally safe bio-insecticides which can be used against moth pests instead of chemical insecticides. Previously, a baculovirus was discovered causing disease in zebra caterpillars in Yakima Valley, Washington, but little was known about this virus. To further characterize this virus, we determined its genome sequence and found that it was almost identical to a baculovirus from larvae of a different moth, the bertha armyworm. The bertha armyworm and the zebra caterpillar often occur together in fields in the Pacific Northwest, and our results suggest that the same virus jumped from one species to the other. We also found that the zebra caterpillar baculovirus has relatively low insecticidal activity against another common moth pest, the cabbage looper, In laboratory bioassays. The information in this study contributes to progress towards identifying baculoviruses suitable for development as bio-insecticides, and will be of interest to those in academia, government, and industry who work with this group of insect viruses or with moth pests like the zebra caterpillar.

Technical Abstract: A baculovirus had been previously identified in larvae of the zebra caterpillar, Melanchra (formerly Ceramica) picta Harris. To further characterize this virus, two isolates, Melanchra picta nucleopolyhedrovirus-185 (MepiNPV-185) and MepiNPV-600, were fully sequenced. Analysis of the genome sequences revealed that both isolates were members of alphabaculovirus species Alphabaculovirus maconfiguratae, along with alphabaculoviruses of the bertha armyworm, Mamestra configurata Walker. MepiNPV-600 displayed relatively low virulence against larvae of Trichoplusia ni Hübner in bioassays compared to other T. ni-pathogenic alphabaculoviruses. MepiNPV likely arose from a cross-species transfer between M. configurata and M. picta larvae, which often occur together.