Potential of betabaculoviruses to control the tomato leafminer Tuta absoluta (Meyrick)
Résumé
The tomato leafminer Tuta absoluta (Meyrick 1917) (Lepidoptera:Gelechiidae) is a devastating pest, causing losses of up to 100%. An interesting tool for its control is the use of the insect specific viruses of Baculoviridae family. Despite its high potential, its use on T. absoluta larvae has been poorly studied. In this work, Colombian granuloviruses VG 013 and VG 003 isolated from T. absoluta and Tecia solanivora (Lepidoptera:Gelechiidae) larvae sampled in tomato and potato crops, respectively, were morphologically, biologically and molecularly characterized. Occlusion bodies showed ovoid shape containing one nucleocapsid. Restriction endonuclease analysis revealed a pattern similar to Phthorimaea operculella granulovirus and bioinformatics studies showed that both isolates are variants of that baculovirus specie. Similar mean lethal concentrations (LC 50) on T. absoluta larvae were estimated for both viruses, although VG 013 exhibited shorter mean time to death than VG 003. The latter reached a higher OB s yield in comparison with VG 013. These results demonstrated an interesting potential of evaluated betabaculoviruses to control T. absoluta populations and pointed key features to its use under field conditions.
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