Canadian Forest Service Publications
Development and Evaluation of Methods To Detect Nucleopolyhedroviruses in Larvae of the Douglas-Fir Tussock Moth, Orgyia pseudotsugata (McDunnough) 2007. Thorne, C.M.; Otvos, I.S.; Conder, N.; Levin, D.B. American Society for Microbiology 73(4): 1101-1106.
Year: 2007
Issued by: Pacific Forestry Centre
Catalog ID: 32555
Language: English
Availability: Not available through the CFS (click for more information).
Available from the Journal's Web site. †
DOI: 10.1128/AEM.01958-06
† This site may require a fee
Abstract
Various molecular methods are used to detect pathogenic microorganisms and viruses within their hosts, but these methods are rarely validated by direct comparison. Southern hybridization, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and a novel DNA extraction/PCR assay were used to detect Orgyia pseudotsugata multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (OpMNPV) in Douglas-fir tussock moth larvae. PCR was more sensitive than Southern hybridization and ELISA at detecting semipurified virus. ELISA, however, was the most accurate method for detecting virus within larvae, given that Southern hybridization and PCR produced false-negative results (31% and 2.5%, respectively). ELISA may be preferable in some applications because virus infections can be quantified (r2 = 0.995). These results may be applicable to both applied and academic research that seeks to accurately identify the incidence of viruses and microorganisms that regulate insect populations.