Characterization of the DNAs of five baculoviruses pathogenic for the armyworm, Pseudaletia unipuncta

Five baculoviruses, three granulosis (GV), and two nuclear polyhedrosis (NPV) viruses which infect the armyworm, Pseudaletia unipuncta, were analyzed with four restriction enzymes. All viruses gave unique restriction fragment patterns even though each progency virus had been produced in larvae of the same insect species. Hybridization of the restriction fragments, immobilized on nitrocellulose, with 32P-labeled viral DNA probes showed no homology between the Oregonian GV and the other two GVs, nor between the two NPVs. Some homology, however, was detected between the Hawaiian GV and the GVS isolated from Scotogramma trifolia, both of which produce similar but distinct synergistic factors that enhance baculovirus infections. The results present unequivocal identity of the five baculoviruses and also provide a basis for detecting recombinants of these viruses.