MONITORING RECOMBINANT BACULOVIRUS REPLICATION IN SPODOPTERA-LITURA (LEPIDOPTERA, NOCTUIDAE) LARVAE BY USING FIREFLY LUCIFERASE GENE AS A REPORTER

An engineered virus, vAcluc, carrying the firefly luciferase (luc) gen e as a reporter was injected into the hemocoel and different regions o f the gut of Spodoptera litura F. to study the route of infection anti virus dissemination. Luciferase activity was detected at 72 h post-in fection in all the tissues examined (i.e., gut, gonads, cuticle, fat b ody, and the hemolymph). However, at 144 h post-infection expression w as restricted primarily to the fat bod, tissue. Although injection of virus into the hemocoel was the most effective way of inoculation, inj ection into the gut also resulted in luc expression, albeit at a lower level, suggesting that nonoccluded viruses can also the infected oral ly.