Mahanani Tri Asri, Siti Rasminah Chaelani, Bambang Tri Rahardjo, Sutiman B. Sumitro
Spodoptera litura is one of agricultural crop pests. They are resistant to chemical insecticides. One of alternate biological control is Spodoptera litura Multiple Nucleopolyhedrosis Virus (SpltMNPV) The research was conducted to determine how SpltMNPV infected midgut epithelial cells of S. litura larvae in vitro. The midgut monolayer epithelial cells were infected by Sp/fMNPV, then incubated for 6 and 24 hours. The mechanism of infection was observed by a transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The result of this observation showed that infecting midgut cell by SpltMNPV involved 5 phases, they are: 1) the attachment of Sp/fMNPV at the membrane of suitable host, 2) the penetration, formation of tunnels and release of protein envelope, 3) the biosynthesis of virus components in the cell nucleus, 4) the assembling of virus components, and 5) the releasing of MNPV/multiple nucleocapsid through budding.
Department of Biology, State University of Surabaya, Surabaya East Java, Jl. Ketintang no 3, 4, Indonesia; Department of Plant Pests and Diseases, 65145 East Java, Jl. Veteran Malang, Indonesia; Department of Biology, University of Brawijaya, 65145 East Java, Jl. Veteran Malang, Indonesia
