1.
J Biosci
;
2015 Sept; 40(3): 487-495
Article
in English
| IMSEAR
| ID: sea-181424
ABSTRACT
The outbreak of an infectious disease in captive-bred Lepidoptera can cause death of all the caterpillars within days. A mixed baculoviral–bacterial infection observed among Actias selene (Hübner 1807), the Indian moon moth (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Saturniidae), larvae was characterized and followed by a photographic documentation of the disease progression. The etiological agents were determined using mass spectrometry and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). It appeared that the disease was caused by a mixed infection of larvae with a baculovirus and Morganella morganii. A molecular phylogenetic analysis of the virus and microbiological description of the pathogenic bacterium are presented.