Wang Qinghua, Zhao Jicheng, Li Enjie, Merchant Austin, Su Zhicheng, Liu Quanquan, Zhou Xuguo
Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry; Key Laboratory of Forest Protection of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing, China.
Experimental Center of Forestry in North China, Chinese Academy of Forestry; National Permanent Scientific Research Base for Warm Temperate Zone Forestry of Jiulong Mountain in Beijing, Beijing, China.
Pest Manag Sci. 2025 Mar;81(3):1171-1185. doi: 10.1002/ps.8516. Epub 2024 Nov 6.
Nesodiprion zhejiangensis, a multivoltine sawfly, is widely distributed in south China and has caused serious damage to forests. Historically, N. zhejiangensis management has relied heavily on synthetic chemicals. To reduce the reliance on chemical control, we previously isolated a nucleopolyhedrovirus, NezhNPV, from deceased N. zhejiangensis larvae. A subsequent pathogenicity assay confirmed its high virulence in a laboratory setting.
In order to comprehensively examine the hypothesis that NezhNPV is an effective new biocontrol agent for N. zhejiangensis, we carried out a field test in Beijing, China, and characterized NezhNPV morphologically by electron microscopy and genetically by genome sequencing. Our field trials showed that NezhNPV was effective in controlling N. zhejiangensis in a naturally infested Himalayan blue pine forest. The occlusion bodies of NezhNPV consist of irregular polyhedra that occlude rod-shaped enveloped virions with a single nucleocapsid per virion. The NezhNPV genome is 80 637 bp in length, and contains 90 open reading frames, including 38 core, eight lepidopteran baculovirus, 34 hymenopteran baculovirus and 10 unique baculovirus genes, representing the smallest known genome among baculoviruses. The combined results based on phylogenetic analyses, Kimura-2-parameter distances and biological characteristics indicate that NezhNPV is a novel gammabaculovirus and candidate for species status with the provisional name Gammabaculovirus nezhejiangensis. NezhNPV is highly collinear with other gammabaculoviruses and contains nonsyntenic regions with an inversion and rearrangement between orf3 and orf35.
The combined results from our field trials, coupled with morphological and genomic characterization clearly demonstrate the bioactivity of NezhNPV. This gammabaculovirus may be included in pest management practices against N. zhejiangensis as a novel biocontrol agent. © 2024 The Author(s). Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
浙江黑胸叶蜂是一种多化性锯蜂，在中国南方广泛分布，对森林造成了严重破坏。历史上，浙江黑胸叶蜂的防治主要依赖合成化学药剂。为了减少对化学防治的依赖，我们之前从死亡的浙江黑胸叶蜂幼虫中分离出一种核型多角体病毒，即浙江黑胸叶蜂核型多角体病毒（NezhNPV）。随后的致病性测定证实了其在实验室环境中的高毒力。
为了全面验证NezhNPV是一种有效的浙江黑胸叶蜂新生物防治剂这一假设，我们在中国北京进行了田间试验，并通过电子显微镜对NezhNPV进行形态学表征，通过基因组测序对其进行遗传学表征。我们的田间试验表明，NezhNPV在自然感染的喜马拉雅蓝松林对浙江黑胸叶蜂具有防治效果。NezhNPV的包涵体由不规则多面体组成，其中包裹着杆状包膜病毒粒子，每个病毒粒子含有一个核衣壳。NezhNPV基因组长度为80637bp，包含90个开放阅读框，其中包括38个核心基因、8个鳞翅目杆状病毒基因、34个膜翅目杆状病毒基因和10个独特的杆状病毒基因，是杆状病毒中已知最小的基因组。基于系统发育分析、Kimura-2-参数距离和生物学特性的综合结果表明，NezhNPV是一种新型γ杆状病毒，暂定名为浙江γ杆状病毒（Gammabaculovirus nezhejiangensis），具有种的地位。NezhNPV与其他γ杆状病毒高度共线性，在orf3和orf35之间存在一个倒位和重排的非共线性区域。
我们田间试验的综合结果，以及形态学和基因组表征清楚地证明了NezhNPV的生物活性。这种γ杆状病毒可作为一种新型生物防治剂纳入浙江黑胸叶蜂的害虫管理实践中。© 2024作者。由John Wiley & Sons Ltd代表化学工业协会出版的《害虫管理科学》。
