Recombinant Baculoviruses

Baculovindae is a family of occluded, invertebrate-specific pathogens, consisting of two generathe nucleopolyhedroviruses (NPVs) and granuloviruses. The majority of basic and applied research efforts, as well as commercial endeavors, have been focused on NPVs. In addition to vertebrate—invertebrate selectivity, many NPVs are infectious against only certain species within the insect order Lepidoptera, and impart no direct adverse effects on members of other insect orders, such as Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Neuroptera, and Diptera (1 ). Examples of lepidopteran-specific baculoviruses are those isolated from gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (LdNPV), celery looper, Anagrapha falcifera Kirby (AfNPV), beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hubner) (SeNPV), and cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) (HzNPV) Target specificity of NPVs make them good candidates for use in integrated pest management systems.