Abstract: Two pairs of specific primers were used for the detection of Hyphantria cunea nucleopolyhedrovirus (HcNPV) by PCR. The two pairs of primers were both designed based on gene pe38 of HcNPV genome. The sizes of amplified fragments were 994 and 614 bp, respectively. The two pairs of primers were further used to detect the amount of viral DNA in diseased larvae or polyhedron of HcNPV. The minimum amount of detection could be as low as 1 fg of total DNA or 3-4 OBs/mL of polyhedron. The amount of viral DNA in hemolymph sampled from the larvae infected by different concentrations of polyhedron at different time points was also investigated, and it was found that the lower the concentration of polyhedron used, the later the viral DNA will be detected.

Key words: Hyphantria cunea nucleopolyhedrovirus (HcNPV), biocontrol, early detection, PCR, pe38 gene