Confirmation of vertical transmission of nucleopolyhedrovirus in the cotton leafworm, spodoptera littoralis (Boisd) using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) [electronic resource].

Includes reference.

Vertical transmission, or parent-la-offspring passage of a pathogenic microorganism, is a phenomenon commonly observed with some insect viruses. Such transmission is common in cytoplasmic polyhedrosis viruses (CPVs) (Belloncik and Mori. 1998) and nucleopolyhedroviruses (NPVs) (Kukan, 1999). The mechanisms might include transovum transmission on the egg surface, transovarian transmission within the egg and passage of latent or persistent infections. In the latter case, the virus is in a non-infective and non-replicative state in the host without causing overt disease, but it can be transfonned to a replicative and infective state when the host is stressed (Fuxa ei aI., 1992).

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