Determination of the virulence of single nucleopolyhedrovirus occlusion bodies using a novel laser capture microdissection method.

Determination of the virulence of occlusion bodies (OBs), which are the horizontal transmission structures of nucleopolyhedroviruses (NPVs), is an important area of baculovirology. A method for inoculating an insect with an isolated OB was developed using Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus (HearNPV) infection of second instar larvae as a model NPV-host pathosystem. In this novel method, laser capture microdissection (LCM) was used to directly catapult single OBs onto the surface of insect diet in bioassay containers.