Transfer of the AaIT Gene of a Recombinant Helicoverpa armigera Nucleopolyhedrovirus to its Surrounding Organisms

To test if the foreign gene of a recombinant baculovirus can be transferred to organisms in the same ecological niche, two experiments were performed. First, the fungus Verticillium dahliae Lleb. was cultivated for up to 90 days in laboratory in the presence of BV,ODV and DNA of recombinant Helicoverpa armigera single nucleocapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus which contains an insect-selective toxin (AaIT) (HaSNPV-AaIT). At 30, 60 and 90 days, the genomic DNA of Verticillium dahliae was isolated and analyzed for the presence of AaIT sequences by dot-blot hybridization. The results show that no positive signal was detected. Second, ladybeetles (Propylaea japonica thunberg) were collected from cotton fields which had been treated several times with a HaSNPV-AaIT formulation. After rearing on healthy aphids (Rhopalosiphum pseudobrassicae Davis) for 3-4 days, DNA samples were extracted from the surface of ladybeetle bodies treated or untreated with alkaline solution and Dnase. PCR products specific for HaSNPV-AaIT were f