DNA Insecticides: Application of the Iap-2 Gene Single-stranded Fragments from Three Different Nucleopolyhedroviruses against Second Instar Gypsy Moth Larvae
Journal: Universal Journal of Applied Science
Year: 2013

We discovered that the external application of a solution containing one single-stranded DNA fragment, 18 nucleotides long, either from the BIR domain of the AcMNPV IAP-2 gene or the RING domain of the TnSNPV IAP-2 gene, induces a significantly higher mortality of gypsy moth larvae compared to a solution of distilled water. The results show the insecticidal potential of viral DNA fragments that can be used to create safe, relatively inexpensive and fast-acting insecticides to control quantity of