(American Society for Microbiology, 2006) Christian, Peter D.; Richards, Andrew R.; Williams, Trevor; Producción Agraria; Nekazaritza Ekoizpena
Soil represents the principal environmental reservoir of many insect-pathogenic viruses. We compared the
adsorption and infectivity of one occluded and two nonoccluded viruses, Helicoverpa armigera single nucleopolyhedrovirus
(HaSNPV) (Baculoviridae), Cricket paralysis virus (CrPV) (Dicistroviridae), and Invertebrate iridescent virus 6
(IIV-6) (Iridoviridae), respectively, in mixtures with a selection of soil-forming minerals. The relative infective titers
of HaSNPV and CrPV were unchanged or slightly reduced in the presence of different minerals compared to their
titers in the absence of the mineral. In contrast, the infective titer of IIV-6 varied according to the mineral being
tested. In adsorption studies, over 98% of HaSNPV occlusion bodies were adsorbed by all the minerals, and a
particularly high affinity was observed with ferric oxide, attapulgite, and kaolinite. In contrast, the adsorption of
CrPV and IIV-6 differed markedly with mineral type, with low affinity to bentonites and high affinity to ferric oxide
and kaolinite. We conclude that interactions between soil-forming minerals and insect viruses appear to be most
important in nucleopolyhedroviruses, followed by invertebrate iridescent viruses, and least important in CrPV,
which may reflect the ecology of these pathogens. Moreover, soils with a high content of iron oxides or kaolinite
would likely represent highly effective reservoirs for insect-pathogenic viruses.
