Aerial Application of the Viral Enhancer Blankophor BBH with Reduced Rates of Gypsy Moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) Nucleopolyhedrovirus

Thorpe, Kevin W.; Cook, Stephen P.; Webb, R. E.; Podgwaite, J. D.; Reardon, Richard C.

doi:10.1006/bcon.1999.0758

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…By contrast, the concentration of optical brightener used in virus + brightener mixtures was identified as significantly affecting the degree of potentiation of homologous nucleopolyhedroviruses. This confirms the results of specific tests in second instar P. includens and L. dispar , in which a positive relationship between brightener concentration and the magnitude of viral synergism was evident (Zou & Young, 1996; Shapiro & Argauer, 1997; Thorpe et al., 1999). This probably reflects a simple dose effect, the quantity of optical brightener consumed exerting a greater effect on peritrophic membrane permeability and gut cell turnover at high concentrations, and a comparatively reduced biological effect at low concentrations.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Effect of optical brighteners on the insecticidal activity of a nucleopolyhedrovirus in three instars of Spodoptera frugiperda

Martínez

Simón

Williams

et al. 2003

Entomologia Exp Applicata

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Certain optical brighteners are effective UV protectants, and can improve the insecticidal activity of baculoviruses. We evaluated the effect of 10 optical brighteners, from four chemically different groups, on the insecticidal activity of a nucleopolyhedrovirus (SfMNPV) in third instar Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). The most effective optical brighteners were Blankophor BBH and Calcofluor M2R, both of which are stilbenes. The distyryl‐biphenyl derivative, Tinopal CBS, had no effect, whereas the stilbenes, Blankophor CLE and Leucophor SAC and the styryl‐benzenic derivative, Blankophor ER, resulted in a decrease in virus induced mortality compared to larvae infected with SfMNPV alone. Mixtures of SfMNPV + 0.1% Calcofluor M2R had relative potencies of 2.7, 6.5, and 61.6 in the second, third, and fourth instars, respectively. The mean time to death differed with instar, but was not affected by the addition of 0.1% Calcofluor M2R. Analysis of published studies indicated that the concentration of Calcofluor M2R‐related stilbenes was positively correlated with the relative potency observed in mixtures with homologous NPVs. The average magnitude of optical brightener activity did not differ significantly between early instars of 10 species of Lepidoptera. We conclude that virus formulations containing optical brighteners may be valuable for control of late instar lepidopteran pests.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Effect of optical brighteners on the insecticidal activity of a nucleopolyhedrovirus in three instars of Spodoptera frugiperda

Martínez

Simón

Williams

et al. 2003

Entomologia Exp Applicata

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“…More generally, our experimental procedure may be useful in the further development of the virus as a management tool (Reardon et al 1996). One of the obstacles to the development and use of viral sprays is the large-scale field trials necessary to evaluate transmission efficacy of different candidate strains (Thorpe et al 1999; Reardon et al 1996). Small-scale transmission experiments might reduce the cost of these evaluations, by providing a preliminary screening of virus strains.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathogen Persistence in the Environment and Insect-Baculovirus Interactions: Disease-Density Thresholds, Epidemic Burnout, and Insect Outbreaks

Fuller

Elderd²,

Dwyer

2012

The American Naturalist

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Classical epidemic theory focuses on directly transmitted pathogens, but many pathogens are instead transmitted when hosts encounter infectious particles. Theory has shown that for such diseases pathogen persistence time in the environment can strongly affect disease dynamics, but estimates of persistence time, and consequently tests of the theory, are extremely rare. We consider the consequences of persistence time for the dynamics of the gypsy moth baculovirus, a pathogen transmitted when larvae consume foliage contaminated with particles released from infectious cadavers. Using field-transmission experiments, we are able to estimate persistence time under natural conditions, and inserting our estimates into a standard epidemic model suggests that epidemics are often terminated by a combination of pupation and burnout, rather than by burnout alone as predicted by theory. Extending our models to allow for multiple generations, and including environmental transmission over the winter, suggests that the virus may survive over the long term even in the absence of complex persistence mechanisms, such as environmental reservoirs or covert infections. Our work suggests that estimates of persistence times can lead to a deeper understanding of environmentally transmitted pathogens, and illustrates the usefulness of experiments that are closely tied to mathematical models.

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“…Formulations showing improved UV stability in the laboratory, however, do not always show improved persistence or efficacy in crop trials 6 , 35 . For example, although the UV protectant BLANKOPHOR BBH increased baculovirus persistence in lab trials, it did not increase effectiveness in field trials 49 . The crucial test of UV formulations must remain the use of plant studies, as this alone can most adequately approximate to the on-crop situation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A novel formulation technology for baculoviruses protects biopesticide from degradation by ultraviolet radiation

Wilson

Grzywacz

Curcic

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Biopesticides are biological pest control agents that are viewed as safer alternatives to the synthetic chemicals that dominate the global insecticide market. A major constraint on the wider adoption of biopesticides is their susceptibility to the ultraviolet (UV: 290-400 nm) radiation in sunlight, which limits their persistence and efficacy. Here, we describe a novel formulation technology for biopesticides in which the active ingredient (baculovirus) is micro-encapsulated in an ENTOSTAT wax combined with a UV absorbant (titanium dioxide, TiO 2). Importantly, this capsule protects the sensitive viral DNA from degrading in sunlight, but dissolves in the alkaline insect gut to release the virus, which then infects and kills the pest. We show, using simulated sunlight, in both laboratory bioassays and trials on cabbage and tomato plants, that this can extend the efficacy of the biopesticide well beyond the few hours of existing virus formulations, potentially increasing the spray interval and/or reducing the need for high application rates. The new formulation has a shelf-life at 30 °C of at least 6 months, which is comparable to standard commercial biopesticides and has no phytotoxic effect on the host plants. Taken together, these findings suggest that the new formulation technology could reduce the costs and increase the efficacy of baculovirus biopesticides, with the potential to make them commercially competitive alternatives to synthetic chemicals. Baculoviruses are dsDNA viruses that infect insects and have, since the 1980s, been used in crop protection as commercial biological insecticides 1,2. Baculoviruses are seen as attractive biological control agents against insect crop pests for many reasons: they have a long and detailed history of research, so basic knowledge of their taxonomy, biology and pathogenicity is available 3 ; they have an established profile of safety and environmental acceptability 4 ; they are highly efficacious pathogens of some of the world's most important crop pests, such as the various Heliothis / Helicoverpa species, Spodoptera spp. and Plutella xylostella 5 ; and, finally, their use as biological pesticides is feasible because commercially-viable mass production systems are well advanced for many baculoviruses 6. These factors have motivated the establishment of a growing commercial production of baculovirus insecticides in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Australasia and Africa 5,7. Moreover, biopesticides are now seen as a major candidate for replacing the many chemical pesticides that have been, and continue to be, withdrawn from the market due to safety concerns 5,8 , and/or where the insect pests have developed resistance to conventional chemical pesticides 9. Baculovirus products, however, still represent only a $50-70 million per annum sector of a global biopesticides market estimated to be worth $2.8 billion dollars a year 10. While a number of factors have been identified as restricting the adoption and expansion of the use of baculovirus biopesticides by growers 5 , a centr...

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Aerial Application of the Viral Enhancer Blankophor BBH with Reduced Rates of Gypsy Moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) Nucleopolyhedrovirus

Cited by 10 publications

References 18 publications

Effect of optical brighteners on the insecticidal activity of a nucleopolyhedrovirus in three instars of Spodoptera frugiperda

Effect of optical brighteners on the insecticidal activity of a nucleopolyhedrovirus in three instars of Spodoptera frugiperda

Pathogen Persistence in the Environment and Insect-Baculovirus Interactions: Disease-Density Thresholds, Epidemic Burnout, and Insect Outbreaks

A novel formulation technology for baculoviruses protects biopesticide from degradation by ultraviolet radiation

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