Abstract
BACULOVIRUSES provide alternatives to chemicals for controlling insect pests1–4 and can be applied by spraying. Baculoviruses have a limited host range, but work relatively slowly. They are dissolved in the midgut of insect larvae to release infectious virions which enter gut epithelial cells and begin to replicate. Replication in other organs causes extensive tissue damage and eventually death. This process can take 4–5 days, but in the field may last for more than a week, allowing the larvae to feed for longer and thereby damaging the host plant. Baculovirus expression vectors expressing foreign genes5,6, such as those for insect-specific toxins, hormones or enzymes, might alleviate this problem7–11 . We have now constructed a recombinant baculovirus derived from Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus containing an insect-specific neurotoxin from the venom of the North African (Algerian) scorpion, Androctonus australis Hector12. The neurotoxin acts by causing specific modifications to the Na+ conductance of neurons, producing a presynaptic excitatory effect leading to paralysis and death15,16; it has no effect in mice17,18. Expression of the neurotoxin by the virus causes a reduction in the time required to kill the host insect.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Cunningham, J. C. in Microbial and Viral Insecticides (ed. Kurstak, E.) 335–386 (Dekker, New York, 1982).
Entwistle, P. F. & Evans, H. F. in Comprehensive Insect Physiology Biochemistry and Pharmacology (eds Kerkut, G. A. & Gilbert, L. I.) 347–412 (Pergamon, Oxford, 1985).
Huber, J. in The Biology of Baculoviruses II. Practical Applications for Insect Control (eds Granados, R. R. & Federici, B. A.) 181–202 (CRC, Boca Raton, 1986).
Evans, H. F. & Entwistle, P. F. in Epizootiology of Insect Diseases (eds Fuxa, J. R. & Tanada, Y.) 257–322 (Wiley, New York, 1987).
Smith, G. E., Summers, M. D. & Fraser, M. J. Molec. cell. Biol. 3, 2156–2165 (1983).
Pennock, G. D., Shoemaker, C. & Miller, L. K. Molec. cell. Biol. 4, 399–406 (1984).
Carbonell, L. F., Hodge, M. R., Tomalski, M. D. & Miller, L. K. Gene 73, 409–418 (1988).
Maeda, S. Biochem. biophys. Res. Commun. 165, 1177–1183 (1989).
Merryweather, A. T. et al. J. gen. Virol. 71, 1535–1544 (1990).
Martens, J. W. M. et al. Appl. envir. Microbiol. 56, 2748–2754 (1990).
Hammock, B. D., Bonning, B. C., Possee, R. D., Hanzlik, T. N. & Maeda, S. Nature 344, 458–461 (1990).
Zlotkin, E., Rochat, H., Kopeyan, C., Miranda, F. & Lissitzky, S. Biochimie 53, 1073–1078 (1971).
Walther, C., Zlotkin, E. & Rathmeyer, W. J. Insect Physiol. 22, 1187–1194 (1976).
Teitelbaum, Z., Lazarovici, P. & Zlotkin, E. Insect Biochem. 9, 343–346 (1979).
Darbon, H., Zlotkin, E., Kopeyan, E., Van Rietschoten, J. & Rochat, H. Int. J. Peptide Protein Res. 20, 320–330 (1982).
Bougis, P. E., Rochat, H. & Smith, L. A. J. biol. Chem. 264, 19259–19265 (1989).
Zlotkin, E. Insect Biochem. 13, 219–236 (1983).
de Dianous, S., Hourau, F. & Rochat, H. Toxicon 25, 411–417 (1987).
Weyer, U., Knight, S. & Possee, R. D. J. gen. Virol. 71, 1525–1534 (1990).
Whitford, M., Stewart, S., Kuzio, J. & Faulkner, P. J. Virol. 63, 1393–1399 (1989).
Matsuura, Y., Possee, R. D., Overton, H. A. & Bishop, D. H. L. (1987). J. gen. Virol. 68, 1233–1250.
Kunkel, T. A. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 83, 488–492 (1985).
Livingstone, C. & Jones, I. Nuicleic Acid Res. 17, 2366 (1989).
Kitts, P. A., Ayres, D. & Possee, R. D. Nucleic Acids Res. 18, 5667–5672 (1990).
Possee, R. D. Virus Res. 5, 43–59 (1986).
Cook, R. F., Avery, R. J. & Dimmock, N. J. J. Infect. Immunity 25, 396–402 (1977).
Finney, D. J. Probit Analysis 3rd edn (Cambridge University Press, UK, 1971).
Hughes, P. R. & Wood, H. A. J. Invert. Pathol. 37, 154–159 (1981).
Hughes, P. R., van Beek, N. A. M. & Wood, H. A. J. Invert. Pathol. 48, 187–192 (1986).
Harap, K. A., Payne, C. C. & Robertson, J. S. Virology 79, 14–31 (1977).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Stewart, L., Hirst, M., Ferber, M. et al. Construction of an improved baculovirus insecticide containing an insect-specific toxin gene. Nature 352, 85–88 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/352085a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/352085a0
This article is cited by
-
Can biocontrol be the game-changer in integrated pest management? A review of definitions, methods and strategies
Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection (2024)
-
Two insecticidal neurotoxins from parasitoid wasp Habrobracon hebetor venom and their potential use in biocontrol
BioControl (2024)
-
Toxicity of butene-fipronil, in comparison with seven other insecticides, in Leptinotarsa decemlineata and Drosophila melanogaster
Phytoparasitica (2017)
-
The unfulfilled promises of scorpion insectotoxins
Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases (2015)
-
Improved insecticidal activity of a recombinant baculovirus expressing spider venom cyto-insectotoxin
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology (2015)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.