Spodoptera frugiperda granulovirus: genomic organization of an Argentinean isolate

GHIRINGHELLI PABLO DANIEL; SCIOCCO-CAP ALICIA ; FERRELLI MARÍA LETICIA; SABALETTE, KARINA BELÉN; TORRES SOFÍA; ROMANOWSKI VÍCTOR

Tours

Congreso; International Congress on Invertebrate Pathology and Microbial Control, 49th Annual Meeting of the Society for Invertebrate Pathology; 2016

Society of Invertebrate Pathology

The fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a major maize crop pest. Its chemical control has been impaired due to the emergence of resistance. Therefore, the application of different control alternatives is of great concern. The use of baculoviruses as biological control agents is an interesting tool as it shows a very low risk of resistance appearance. Baculoviruses that infect the fall armyworm have been described. SfMNPV belonging to the Alphabaculovirus genus, with several isolates reported; and SfGV, a Betabaculovirus with at least two isolates reported from Colombia and Brazil, one of them with its complete genome described (Colombian SfGV, VG008). Here we describe an Argentinean isolate of SfGV, SfGV-ARG. SfGV-ARG was replicated in S. frugiperda larvae. Occlusion bodies (OBs) were used for protein profile analysis and DNA purification. Its genome was sequenced by an Illumina Hiseq2000 platform. A draft of the SfGV-ARG genome was obtained and compared to VG008. GC% content is the same for both isolates: 46.23%. Restriction analysis was performed experimentally and in silico in order to analyze the genome integrity and to compare it with previously published restriction patterns from Colombian and Brazilian isolates. New EcoRI, HindIII and BamHI restriction sites were found in SfGV-ARG genome draft as well as the absence of some restriction sites which are present in VG008. All VG008 ORFs were found in SfGV-ARG with the exception of lef-7. Phylogenetic analysis was also performed in order to study SfGV-ARG relationship with the Baculoviridae family. SfGV-ARG was shown to belong to the same virus species described for the Colombian and Brazilian isolates although is a different variant.