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Updated: Dec 9, 2025
Isolation and Genome Analysis of Single Virions using 'Single Virus Genomics'
Published on: May 26, 2013
Determination of the virulence of single nucleopolyhedrovirus occlusion bodies using a novel laser capture
Thrishantha Munsamy1, Gustav Bouwer1
1School of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, South Africa.
Abstract:
Determination of the virulence of occlusion bodies (OBs), which are the horizontal transmission structures of nucleopolyhedroviruses (NPVs), is an important area of baculovirology. A method for inoculating an insect with an isolated OB was developed using Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus (HearNPV) infection of second instar Helicoverpa armigera larvae as a model NPV-host pathosystem. In this novel method, laser capture microdissection (LCM) was used to directly catapult single OBs onto the surface of insect diet in bioassay containers. Since exposure via the natural oral horizontal transmission route of each larva to a single OB was established and not subject to chance variation, the method facilitated determination of the insect mortality rate (4.8%) associated with exposure to single HearNPV OBs. Droplet feeding bioassays confirmed that the novel method did not reduce OB virulence. The LCM method sets a foundation for virulence and genetic diversity studies based on single NPV OBs.
