CHARACTERIZATION OF HELICOVERPA ZEA SINGLE NUCLEOPOLYHEDROVIRUS ISOLATED IN BRAZIL DURING THE FIRST OLD WORLD BOLLWORM (NOCTUIDAE: HELICOVERPA ARMIGERA) NATIONWIDE OUTBREAK

A baculovirus isolated in Brazil during the first nationwide outbreak of Helicoverpa armigerais described by ultrastructural analyses, restriction profiles, pathogenicity of host insects, and complete genome sequence. The results revealed that the virus is an isolate of the species Helicoverpa zea single nucleopolyhedrovirus(HzSNPV-Brazilian) never reported before in Brazil. Among the HzSNPV isolates few mutations were observed depicting likely a recent divergence of this lineage. Therefore, the entrance of both foreign pests and natural pathogens into the country must warn the government to reinforce sanitary barriers in order to avoid possible agriculture sabotage and novel foreign pest introductions. Moreover, we found that the Brazilian natural isolate was as lethal as a commercial strain to H. armigera.Importantly, virus characterization is of importance in establishment of an economical and useful virusbased biological control program in the country to counteract effectively pest infestations. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17525/vrrjournal.v20i1.254