Genetic and phenotypic comparisons of viral genotypes from two nucleopolyhedroviruses interacting with a common host species, Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).

Nucleopolyhedroviruses (NPVs) are known to be highly variable, both genetically and phenotypically, at several scales such as different geographic locations or a single host. A previous study using several geographic isolates indicated that two types of NPV, Spodoptera littoralis NPV (SpliNPV) and S. litura NPV (SpltNPV) types, were isolated from the common cutworm, Spodoptera litura (Fabricius), a polyphagous insect that causes serious damage to many forage crops and vegetables. That study also indicated that the SpliNPV type was widely distributed in Japan. Here, we investigated the genotypic and phenotypic variation of cloned NPVs that infect S. litura; such variation is an important resource for biological control agents, and may represent the genetic diversity of an NPV species. Eighteen genotypically distinct NPVs were cloned from four field-collected NPV isolates using an in vivo cloning technique. They were divided into two virus types according to the similarity of banding patterns of DNA fragments generated by restriction endonucleases, and Southern hybridization analysis. Partial polyhedrin gene sequences revealed that the two types corresponded to SpliNPV and SpltNPV. Bioassays seem to suggest that the SpliNPV virus type was, overall, more infectious and killed S. litura larvae faster, but yielded fewer viral occlusion bodies, than the SpltNPV type. These data provide a basis for explaining the distribution pattern of SpliNPV and SpltNPV types in S. litura populations in Japan.