A Novel Alphabaculovirus from the Soybean Looper, , that Produces Tetrahedral Occlusion Bodies and Encodes Two Copies of .

Isolates of the alphabaculovirus species, , have been identified that produce polyhedral occlusion bodies and infect larvae of the soybean looper, . In this study, we report the discovery and characterization of a novel -infecting alphabaculovirus, Chrysodeixis includens nucleopolyhedrovirus #1 (ChinNPV#1), that produces tetrahedral occlusion bodies. In bioassays against larvae, ChinNPV #1 exhibited a degree of pathogenicity that was similar to that of other ChinNPV isolates, but killed larvae more slowly. The host range of ChinNPV#1 was found to be very narrow, with no indication of infection occurring in larvae of and six other noctuid species. The ChinNPV#1 genome sequence was determined to be 130,540 bp, with 126 open reading frames (ORFs) annotated but containing no homologous repeat () regions. Phylogenetic analysis placed ChinNPV#1 in a clade with other Group II alphabaculoviruses from hosts of lepidopteran subfamily Plusiinae, including Chrysodeixis chalcites nucleopolyhedrovirus and Trichoplusia ni single nucleopolyhedrovirus. A unique feature of the ChinNPV#1 genome was the presence of two full-length copies of the ORF. The results indicate that ChinNPV#1 is related to, but distinct from, other ChinNPV isolates.