An Overview of Insect Baculovirus Ecology as a Background to Field Release of a Genetically Manipulated Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus

The use of baculoviruses (BVs) as bio-insecticides could be enhanced by incorporation of genes leading to reduced damage to crops by the infected host insect during the period of disease incubation. The risks associated with release of genetically engineered BVs can be best assessed against a comprehensive background of knowledge of their natural ecology. This paper summarises what is known of BV ecology and presents a structured programme of further research employing a virus belonging to this group which has been genomically labelled with a non-coding synthetic oligonucleotide sequence. Such a marker would permit an unique BV population to be traced through the environment in space and time.