Biochemical characterization of three nucleopolyhedrovirus isolates of Spodoptera exigua and Mamestra brassicae

Three nucleopolyhedroviruses (NPVs), of different geographical origins, were biochemically characterized and compared. Two that were isolated from Spodoptera exigua (Se-UZB and Se-SP3) in Uzbekistan and Spain were SeMNPV type, and the third which was isolated from Mamestra brassicae (Mb-PL) in Poland was MbMNPV type. The Spanish isolate Se-SP3 showed restriction endonuclease (REN) profiles that were closely related to two previously described Spanish strains Se-SP1 and Se-SP2, but had some unique and characteristic REN fragments. On the other hand, comparison between the Uzbekian (Se-UZB) and the Spanish (Se-SP1, Se-SP2, and Se-SP3) isolates from S. exigua showed unrelated REN profiles. However, the Pst I and Bgl II profiles of Se-UZB and Mb-PL were identical, and very similar to the REN profiles of the MbMNPV strain, which constitutes the active component of Mamestrin^® (NPP, Nagueres, France), a commercial bioinsecticide. It is therefore very likely that the Se-UZB samples were cross-infected by the Polish strain (Mb-PL). This work presents two new strains of SeMNPV and MbMNPV, called Se-SP3 and Mb-PL, respectively, which were surveyed in two distant areas.