Abstract
AbstractBaculoviruses are natural pathogens of insects which have been used as biopesticides. In contrast to many chemical agents, baculoviruses affect only a limited number of insects and so can be used to target particular insect species. Unfortunately, unless the host receives a very high virus dose, the insect continues to feed and causes damage to crops, because the virus takes several days to kill it. This lag is unacceptable in the protection of many crops, especially where cosmetic damage seriously reduces the value of a crop (e.g. fruit). Strategies have been devised recently to circumvent this problem. The baculovirus genome has been modified, using genetic engineering techniques, to incorporate foreign genes encoding insect‐specific toxins, or hormones or enzymes. Expression of some of these genes in the virus‐infected host insect has been shown to reduce both the feeding damage to crop plants and the time taken to kill the insect pest. The current status of this developing field is described, together with an assessment of the possible risks involved in using such genetically modified agents in the environment.
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