Spodoptera frugiperda multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus as a potential biological insecticide: genetic and phenotypic comparison of field isolates from Colombia

Thirty-eight isolates of Spodoptera frugiperda multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (SfMNPV), collected from infected larvae on pastures, maize, and sorghum plants in three different geographical regions of Colombia, were subjected to molecular characterization and were compared with a previously characterized Nicaraguan isolate (SfNIC). Restriction endonuclease analysis (REN) using six different enzymes showed two different patterns among Colombian isolates, one profile was particularly frequent (92%) and was named SfCOL. The physical map of SfCOL was constructed and the genome was estimated to be 133.9 kb, with few differences in terms of number and position of restriction sites between the genomes of SfNIC and SfCOL. The PstI-K and PstI-M fragments were characteristic of SfCOL. These fragments were sequenced to reveal the presence of seven complete and two partial ORFs. This region was collinear with SfMNPV sf20–sf27. However, two ORFs (4 and 5) had no homologies with SfMNPV ORFs, but were homologous with Spodoptera exigua MNPV (se21 and se22/se23) and Spodoptera litura NPV (splt20 and splt21). Biological characterization was performed against two different colonies of S. frugiperda, one originating from Colombia and one from Mexico. Occlusion bodies (OBs) of the SfCOL isolate were as potent (in terms of concentration–mortality metrics) as SfNIC OBs towards the Mexican insect colony. However, SfCOL OBs were 12 times more potent for the Colombian colony than SfNIC OBs and three times more potent for the Colombian colony than for the Mexican colony. SfCOL and SfNIC showed a slower speed of kill (by ∼50 h) in insects from the Colombian colony compared to the Mexican colony, which was correlated with a higher production of OBs/larvae. SfCOL is a new strain of SfMNPV that presents pathogenic characteristics that favor its development as the basis for a biopesticide product in Colombia.