This study investigates the mechanism of action of DNA insecticides, a novel preparation against gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) based on the DNA fragments of the antiapoptotic gene of its nuclear polyhedrosis virus. In our experiments gypsy moth showed significant susceptibility to applied DNA insecticides on the basis of BIR and RING domains fragments of LdMNPV IAP-3, whereas common fruit fly and tobacco hornworm did not. | Turkish Journal of Biology Research Article Turk J Biol (2015) 39: 258-264 © TÜBİTAK doi: Investigation of mode of action of DNA insecticides on the basis of LdMNPV IAP-3 gene Volodymyr V. OBEREMOK, Palmah M. NYADAR* Department of Biochemistry, Taurida National . Vernadsky University, Simferopol, Ukraine Received: Accepted: Published Online: Printed: Abstract: This study investigates the mechanism of action of DNA insecticides, a novel preparation against gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) based on the DNA fragments of the antiapoptotic gene of its nuclear polyhedrosis virus. In our experiments gypsy moth showed significant susceptibility to applied DNA insecticides on the basis of BIR and RING domains fragments of LdMNPV IAP-3, whereas common fruit fly and tobacco hornworm did not. PCR with the same fragments of BIR and RING domains of the LdMNPV IAP-3 gene as primers revealed parts of the genomes of gypsy moth, common fruit fly, and tobacco hornworm. Part of the gypsy moth genome cloned with the fragments of BIR and RING domains of the LdMNPV IAP-3 gene as primers has an overlap with the corresponding part of the LdMNPV IAP-3 gene and Lymantria dispar IAP-1 mRNA for an inhibitor of apoptosis protein with the high cover of the latter by query, which allows assuming that we cloned a part of a gypsy moth antiapoptosis gene. This finding suggests that DNA insecticides might act through the mechanisms characteristic for blocking of posttranscriptional expression of gypsy moth antiapoptosis genes. Key words: LdMNPV IAP-3 gene, BIR and RING domains, posttranscriptional silencing, DNA insecticides, crop protection 1. Introduction Baculoviruses are insect pathogenic viruses used as biological control agents (Susurluk et al., 2013). Baculoviruses encode inhibitors of apoptosis (IAPs), which are classified into 5 groups, IAP-1–5, based on their sequence homology. .
