Question

How are nucleopolyhedrovirus used these days?

Answer 1

Hint: The NPV is a virus which affects the insects mainly the moths and butterflies. It belongs to the family of baculovirus and has around 35 species. It dissolves in the alkaline gut of the insects and infests the larvae. It is completely lethal.

Complete answer:
The NPV contains a polyhedral capsid which protects the virus from the external environment. The capsid is made up of stable proteins which can only be active in the alkaline environment.
The viruses transmit through the bodily fluids. It enters the nucleus of the host and starts replicating. The host cell becomes swollen and black and ultimately dies.

Application:
The NPV is recently used as a pesticide for killing the pests which destroys the crops. For example-
1)NPV is used in controlling the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) which destroys the forest trees.
2)The sawfly is also found to be controlled by the specific NPV treatment.
3)Baculovirus heliothis is used to contain several cosmopolitan insects which attack several food and fibre yielding crops.
4)The biotrol-VTN is a NPV preparation which is used to control pests like Trichoplusia.
5)The cotton leafworm can be controlled by the use of a commercially available NPV mix called biotrol-VSE.
6)NPV is highly specific, and does not cause harm to humans and other animals. Thus it is highly beneficial for integrated pest management.

Note: The NPV can be killed by the help of bleach and UV light. It does not infect humans as the stomach of the humans have an acidic environment and these viruses can only thrive in an alkaline medium. Thus, the viruses do not replicate and cause illness.