Isolation,Replication and Polyhedrin Gene Sequence of an Israeli Helicoverpa Armigera Single Nucleopolyhedrovirus

A local strain of Helicoverpa armigera baculovirus was isolated from infected H. armigera larvae. Infectivity to Helicoverpa cells, restriction enzyme analysis and electron microscopy allowed its identification as a single embedded nucleopolyhedrovirus, designated HaSNPV-IS. Analysis of DNA replication, protein synthesis and polyhedrin expression in HaSNPV-infected cells located the late and very late phases of the viral cycle at 24 and 48 h after infection, respectively. The viral polyhedrin gene was isolated and characterized. It encoded for a polypeptide of 246 amino acid residues. A 32 kDa polypeptide was identified by immunoblot analysis using anti-polyhedrin antiserum. The HaSNPV-IS polyhedrin DNA sequence revealed 99.4% of homology to the HzSNPV polyhedrin. The availability of this efficient replication system and the above knowledge paves the way to future genetic engineering of the HaSNPV. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.