›› 2008, Vol. 51 ›› Issue (3): 322-327.

• RESEARCH PAPERS • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Advances in application of recombinant insect viruses as biopesticides

JIANG Hong   

  • Online:2010-07-27 Published:2008-03-20

Abstract:

 Biological control of agricultural and urban pests has gained importance in recent years due to increased pressure to reduce the use of chemical insecticides and their residues in the environment and food. Insect viruses are valuable natural control agents and have been genetically modified to improve their insecticidal activity. Recombinant insect viruses are efficacious in the laboratory, greenhouse and field trials. After 17 generations of selection, the level of resistance to the treated recombinant baculovirus insecticide was twice as great as that of their control line. This is among the lowest levels of resistance evolved to a baculovirus. The insecticidal efficacies can be promoted by adding adjuvant agents into formulations like fluorescent brighteners or expressing enhancins in viral infection. Hopefully, the negative influence of social perception of genetically modified organisms on biotechnological research will gradually decrease and recombinant insect viruses will be introduced as an important biological factor in the near future.

Key words: Recombinant insect virus, baculovirus, biological control, insecticidal efficacy, resistance