Characterization of a granulovirus from the cassava hornworm (Erinnyis ello : Sphingidae)

A Colombian isolate of Erinnyis ello granulovirus (EeGV) was characterized by electron microscopy, restriction endonuclease digestion, and SDS-PAGE. E lectron microscopy showed the occlusion bodies to have a morphology typical of granuloviruses. The restriction patterns of DNA from EeGV and the granu loviruses of Trichoplusia ni (TnGV) and Pieris rapae (PrGV) show little or no similarity, indicating little relatedness among these viruses. EeGV was estimated to possess a relatively small genome of 90.5 +/- 0.5 kbp. SDS-PAG E analysis compared the occulsion body and enveloped nucleocapsid proteins of EeGV and TnGV, and the polypeptide patterns also showed little similarit y between these viruses. These analyses, as well as comparison of our resul ts to those reported for other granuloviruses, indicate that EeGV represent s a new granulovirus isolate. (C) 2000 Academic Press.