Application of Insect Viruses as Biopesticides

Dear Colleagues,

Indiscriminate use of broad-spectrum synthetic pesticides has widely been regarded as ecologically damaging. There is, consequently, increased social pressure to reduce their use by, for instance, promoting the adoption of safer alternatives, such as biopesticides. Viruses of a few families are known to infect invertebrates and, therefore, have significant potential for development as biopesticides, especially as they are also highly specific, virulent, and have good safety profiles. The Baculoviridade family, to which most potential viral pesticides belong, contains over 600 described species and their most common hosts are the larval forms of lepidopterans.

Application of viruses as bioinsecticides was, however, limited in the 20^th century because of their slow killing action, the technical difficulties of in vitro commercial production, and their degradation by ultraviolet (uv) radiation under field conditions. Successful protection of over two million hectares of soybean with baculovirus in Brazil at the turn of this century reintroduced the possibility of using viral-based biopesticides. Since then, wider application of viruses for pest control has been observed, mostly in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. A number of approaches for the improvement of virus biopesticides can be foreseen. These include:

• Establishment of Integrated Pest Management programs in which baculoviruses are combined with other organisms to improve pest control;
• In countries where the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is restricted, improvements will be mainly at the level of in vitro production, diagnostics, UV protection, and formulation;
• In countries with more relaxed attitudes towards the use of GMOs, the insecticidal activity of viruses may be augmented through genetic modification.

In this Special Issue, both original research and review articles are welcome. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Insect viruses in integrated pest management;
• New species of insect viruses and their characterization in response to the appearance of novel pests;
• Large scale production of insect viruses in vivo;
• In vitro culture of insect viruses;
• Molecular biology of insect viruses, with emphasis on aspects related to improvement of their properties as biopesticides;
• Technologies (including genetic modification) to enhance the killing properties of insect viruses;
• Policy and regulatory issues impacting commercialization of virus-based biopesticides;
• Baculovirus diversity and evolution.

This issue is expected to make a significant contribution towards the body of literature addressing contemporary issues impacting the development of virus-based biopesticides.

Dr. Boguslaw Szewczyk
Dr. Dennis Ndolo
Dr. Marlinda Lobo de Souza
Dr. Michael David Jukes
Guest Editors

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• insect viruses
• biopesticides
• integrated pest management
• in vitro production
• killing properties
• modifications of viral genomes