NezhNPV , a new biocontrol agent for Nesodiprion zhejiangensis Zhou & Xiao (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae), an emerging forest pest

作者：Qinghua Wang, Jicheng Zhao, Enjie Li, Austin Merchant, Zhicheng Su, Quanquan Liu, Xuguo Zhou · 发表于：Pest Management Science · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1002/ps.8516 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Viral Infectious Diseases and Gene Expression in Insects、Entomopathogenic Microorganisms in Pest Control、Insect Resistance and Genetics

BACKGROUND: Nesodiprion zhejiangensis, a multivoltine sawfly, is widely distributed in south China and has caused serious damage to forests. Historically, N. zhejiangensis management has relied heavily on synthetic chemicals. To reduce the reliance on chemical control, we previously isolated a nucleopolyhedrovirus, NezhNPV, from deceased N. zhejiangensis larvae. A subsequent pathogenicity assay confirmed its high virulence in a laboratory setting. RESULTS: In order to comprehensively examine the hypothesis that NezhNPV is an effective new biocontrol agent for N. zhejiangensis, we carried out a field test in Beijing, China, and characterized NezhNPV morphologically by electron microscopy and genetically by genome sequencing. Our field trials showed that NezhNPV was effective in controlling N. zhejiangensis in a naturally infested Himalayan blue pine forest. The occlusion bodies of NezhNPV consist of irregular polyhedra that occlude rod-shaped enveloped virions with a single nucleocapsid per virion. The NezhNPV genome is 80 637 bp in length, and contains 90 open reading frames, including 38 core, eight lepidopteran baculovirus, 34 hymenopteran baculovirus and 10 unique baculovirus genes, representing the smallest known genome among baculoviruses. The combined results based on phylogenetic analyses, Kimura-2-parameter distances and biological characteristics indicate that NezhNPV is a novel gammabaculovirus and candidate for species status with the provisional name Gammabaculovi...