The baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) has been widely used to produce a large number of recombinant proteins, and is becoming one of the most powerful, robust, and cost-effective systems for the production of eukaryotic proteins. Nevertheless, as in any other protein expression system, it is important to improve the production capabilities of this vector. The orf46 viral gene was iden...

Dendrolimus punctatus cypovirus (DpCPV) is an important pathogen of D. punctatus, but little is known about the mechanisms of DpCPV infection. Here, we investigated the effects of VP3, VP4 and VP5 structural proteins on the viral invasion. Both the C-terminal of VP3 (methyltransferase (MTase) domain) and VP4 (A-spike) bound to Spodoptera exigua midgut brush border membrane vesicles (BBMVs) in a...

Plants have direct and indirect constitutively produced and inducible defenses against herbivores and pathogens, which can substantially aid in their ability to defend themselves. However, very little is known about the influence of agronomic factors on such defenses. Here, we tested the effects of nitrogen levels and water availability on the ability of cotton plants to deter feeding by Spodop...

Several mutants of the Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ca toxin affected with regard to specific activity towards Spodoptera exigua were studied. Alanine was used to replace single residues in loops 2 and 3 of domain II (mutant pPB19) and to replace residues 541-544 in domain III (mutant pPB20). Additionally, a Cry1Ca mutant combining all mutations was constructed (mutant pPB21). Toxicity assays sho...

Insect chemosensory genes have been considered as potential molecular targets to develop alternative strategies for pest control. However, in Spodoptera exigua, a seriously polyphagous agricultural pest, only a small part of such genes have been identified and characterized to date. Here, using a bioinformatics screen a total of 79 chemosensory genes were identified from a public transcriptomic...

Using a comparative approach, the mechanisms involved in maintenance of the transmembrane K+ activity gradients in the larval body-wall muscles of two insects, Phormia terraenovae (Diptera) and Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera), have been investigated. Double-barrelled K+-selective microelectrodes were used to obtain simultaneous measurements of intracellular K+ activity and membrane potential, w...

Nitric oxide (NO) mediates both cellular and humoral immune responses in insects. Its mediation of cellular immune responses uses eicosanoids as a downstream signal. However, the cross-talk with two immune mediators was not known in humoral immune responses. This study focuses on cross-talk between two immune mediators in inducing gene expression of anti-microbial peptides (AMPs) of a lepidopte...

Phytoremediation of selenium-contaminated soils may be influenced by higher trophic levels including insects. We examined how selenium affects the behavior, survival, and development of the wasp parasitoid Cotesia marginiventris, parasitizing its natural host, the beet armyworm Spodoptera exigua, feeding on alfalfa, Medicago sativa, irrigated with water containing selenate. X-ray absorption spe...