SBIR-STTR Award

Baculoviruses have great potential as insect control agents by their inherent selectivity and safety. Recombinant baculoviruses expressing foreign genes encoding for insecticidal proteins should be considerably more effective biological control agents than wild-type viruses in both field efficacy and host range. The aim of the proposed research is to investigate the biology and effects of recombinant viruses in whole insects. An easily assayable gene (B-galactosidase), Several AcMNPV recombinants, and susceptible Lepidopteran larvae will be used as model materials. Such questions as the time course, site and quantity of gene expression and the stability of virus recombinants following repeated passages, will be answered.

Baculoviruses have great potential as insect control agents by their inherent selectivity and safety. Recombinant baculoviruses expressing foreign genes encoding for insecticidal proteins should be considerably more effective biological control agents than wild-typed viruses in both field efficacy and host range. The aim of the proposed research is to isolate a potentially insecticidal gene from a gene library of a lepidopteran hose and introduce it into a baculovirus genome for expression in larvae. The lethality of the recombinant will then be compared to the wild-type.Applications:Several major Lepidopteran pest groups of worldwide importance are infected by naturally-occurring baculoviruses which are, at present, not sufficiently infectious to warrant commercialization. By recombinant DNA techniques, these baculovirus can be made more effective in terms of infectivity and host range. The efforts described in this proposal could lead to a more field-effective pathogen. These inherently safe and effective insect pathogens can then be brought to a wider market more rapidly.