A nucleopolyhedrovirus (NPV) was isolated from diseased larvae of Malacosoma franconicum (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775), collected from the northeastern part of Turkey. Light and electron microscopic observations showed that this virus is a multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (MNPV). | Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry Turk J Agric For (2014) 38: 462-470 © TÜBİTAK doi: Research Article A highly effective nucleopolyhedrovirus against Malacosoma spp. (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae) from Turkey: isolation, characterization, phylogeny, and virulence 1, 1 1,2 İsmail DEMİR *, Remziye NALÇACIOĞLU , Lida MOHAMMAD GHOLİZAD , Zihni DEMİRBAĞ 1 Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Turkey 2 Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran Received: Accepted: Published Online: 1 Printed: Abstract: A nucleopolyhedrovirus (NPV) was isolated from diseased larvae of Malacosoma franconicum (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775), collected from the northeastern part of Turkey. Light and electron microscopic observations showed that this virus is a multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (MNPV). The dimensions of the polyhedral inclusion bodies varied from to µm, and the sizes of the virions were also measured to be approximately nm. Restriction analysis of the new isolate and ManeNPV-T2 (previously isolated from M. neustria larvae) showed that the new virus is closely related to ManeNPV-T2. Furthermore, sequence and phylogenetic analysis of polh and lef-8 also revealed a high degree of homology to M. neustria NPV. Our results indicate that the new virus is another isolate of ManeNPV that infects M. franconicum larvae naturally. Therefore, it was named ManeNPV-T3. The virulence of ManeNPV-T3, which was tested against the third instar of M. franconicum and M. neustria larvae under laboratory conditions, indicated that × 105 occlusion bodies per larvae caused 100% mortality within 10 days. The same dose also showed viral infection in Malacosoma castrensis, Plodia interpunctella, Thaumetopoea pityocampa, and Galleria mellonella larvae causing 65%, 60%, 35%, and 25% .
