Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is an important pest in Turkey and causes extensive economic losses in many cultivated crops. The viruses within the family Baculoviridae are specific pathogens of insects. The nucleopolyhedroviruses (NPVs), 1 of the 2 genera of this family, have been isolated from many insect orders, primarily from the lepidopterans. | Turk J Biol 28 (2004) 71-77 © TÜB‹TAK First Record of a NPV Isolated from Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Turkey and Its Molecular Identification According to the Partial lef-8 Gene Umut TOPRAK* State Education and Research Center for Agriculture Viticulture and Horticulture (SLFA), Biotechnological Crop Protection, Breitenweg 71, 67435 Neustadt/ M. Oktay GÜRKAN* Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Herts AL5 2JQ-United Kingdom Received: Abstract: Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is an important pest in Turkey and causes extensive economic losses in many cultivated crops. The viruses within the family Baculoviridae are specific pathogens of insects. The nucleopolyhedroviruses (NPVs), 1 of the 2 genera of this family, have been isolated from many insect orders, primarily from the lepidopterans. In our study, a local NPV was isolated from the larvae of Spodoptera littoralis fed in the cotton fields in southern Turkey (Mersin). For the molecular identification of the virus, polyhedra (occlusion bodies [OBs]) were isolated from insects and total DNA extraction was performed using a commercial kit from OBs. One of the genes involved in late gene expression found in the SpliNPV genome, lef-8, was partially amplified by PCR. Nucleotide sequence analysis of this region was performed by MWG (Ebersberg, Germany). According to the nucleotide sequences of partial lef-8, searches carried out with the updated GenBanks showed that the isolate was a Spodoptera littoralis NPV-B variant. This NPV was the fifth SpliNPV-B variant isolated worldwide and was named SpliNPV-TR1 isolate as it is the first record in Turkey of a NPV isolated from Spodoptera littoralis. Key Words: Baculovirus, NPV, Spodoptera littoralis, lef-8, PCR, Nucleotide sequence analysis Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)’ten ‹zole Edilen Bir NPV’nin Türkiye ‹çin ‹lk Kayd› ve K›smi Lef-8 Genine Göre Moleküler .
