Williams, Trevor

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Williams

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Trevor

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Producción Agraria

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  • PublicationOpen Access
    Population genetic structure determine the virulence and transmissibility of Spodoptera frugiperda multiple necleopolyhedrovirus
    (Elsevier, 2007-12-28) Simón de Goñi, Oihane; Williams, Trevor; López Ferber, Miguel; Taulemesse, Jean-Marie; Caballero Murillo, Primitivo; Producción Agraria; Nekazaritza Ekoizpena; IdAB. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología / Agrobioteknologiako Institutua
    A Nicaraguan isolate of Spodoptera frugiperda multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (SfNIC) survives as a complex mixture of genotypes (named A to I). The speed of kill, time-mortality distribution, and occlusion body (OB) production of single genotypes (A, B and F) and co-occluded mixtures of genotypes, in a 75% + 25% ratio, were compared to determine the contribution of each genotype to the transmissibility of the viral population. Pure genotypes differed markedly in their speed of kill in second instar S. frugiperda. The speed of kill of SfNIC was attenuated compared to that of the dominant genotype B, indicating that interactions involving two or more genotypes likely determine host killing traits in the virus population. Genotypes A, F and defective genotype C, had no significant effects on the distribution of insect deaths over time when present as minority components in mixtures comprising 75% of genotype B. Similarly, the mortality pattern over time of insects infected by genotype F, the fastest-killing genotype tested, was not affected by the presence of genotypes A or C. Semi-quantitative PCR studies indicated that the genetic composition did not differ significantly between SfNIC-infected insects that died soon (67 h) or late (139 h) after inoculation, suggesting that stability in genotypic composition is important for virus survival. Median OB production per insect was correlated with mean time to death so that attenuated speed of kill of SfNIC resulted in high OB yields. We conclude that (i) minority genotypes play a functional role in determining the timing of mortality of infected hosts and (ii) the genotypic structure of the virus population is stably maintained to maximize the likelihood of survival.
  • PublicationOpen Access
    Insecticidal traits of variants in a genotypically diverse natural isolate of anticarsia gemmatalis multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AgMNPV)
    (MDPI, 2023) Parras-Jurado, Ana; Muñoz Labiano, Delia; Beperet Arive, Inés; Williams, Trevor; Caballero Murillo, Primitivo; Institute for Multidisciplinary Research in Applied Biology - IMAB
    Outbreaks of Anticarsia gemmatalis (Hübner, 1818) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae), a major pest of soybean, can be controlled below economic thresholds with methods that do not involve the application of synthetic insecticides. Formulations based on natural isolates of the Anticarsia gemmatalis multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AgMNPV) (Baculoviridae: Alphabaculovirus) played a significant role in integrated pest management programs in the early 2000s, but a new generation of chemical insecticides and transgenic soybean have displaced AgMNPV-based products over the past decade. However, the marked genotypic variability present among and within alphabaculovirus isolates suggests that highly insecticidal genotypic variants can be isolated and used to reduce virus production costs or overcome isolate-dependent host resistance. This study aimed to select novel variants of AgMNPV with suitable insecticidal traits that could complement the existing AgMNPV active ingredients. Three distinct AgMNPV isolates were compared using their restriction endonuclease profile and in terms of their occlusion body (OB) pathogenicity. One isolate was selected (AgABB51) from which eighteen genotypic variants were plaque purified and characterized in terms of their insecticidal properties. The five most pathogenic variants varied in OB pathogenicity, although none of them was faster-killing or had higher OB production characteristics than the wild-type isolate. We conclude that the AgABB51 wild-type isolates appear to be genotypically structured for fast speed of kill and high OB production, both of which would favor horizontal transmission. Interactions among the component variants are likely to influence this insecticidal phenotype.