Perylenediimide-cored cationic nanocarriers deliver virus DNA to kill insect pests

Abstract

Biopesticides are widely utilized for organic and green food production. One representative case is Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus (HaNPV), which has strong pesticidal effects on its only host, cotton bollworm. HaNPV cannot infect and kill other pests, probably due to the lack of virus receptors in the intestinal cells of other pests. The narrow infection range of pests is a main restriction factor in the field application of insect viruses. Herein, we have utilized two types of perylenediimide-cored cationic nanocarriers to efficiently deliver HaNPV deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in vitro and in vivo and to kill non-host pests. Both fluorescent nanocarriers can condense HaNPV DNA into stable complexes. Non-host insect cells treated with the complexes show severe cell death. In vivo tests on two non-host insect species demonstrate that the nanocarrier delivery system can efficiently broaden the host range of virus DNA. Our work paves a novel way to extend the application range of insecticidal viruses via nanocarrier delivery systems.