1ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources, Bengaluru-560 024, Karnataka, India
2ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa, New Delhi-110 012, India
3ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines, Equine Production Complex (R.K.), Bikaner-334 001, Rajasthan, India
4Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj-211 007, Uttar Pradesh, India
*Corresponding Author: Ratna Prabha, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa, New Delhi-110 012, India, Email: ratnasinghbiotech30@gmail.com
Online published on 27 February, 2026.
Baculoviruses represent the largest family of insect viruses and serve as important tools in integrated pest management due to their unique characteristics including host specificity, environmental safety and compatibility with other control agents. Despite their advantages as biopesticides, wild-type baculoviruses have several limitations, including restricted host range and vulnerability to UV light. Genetic engineering has emerged as a promising approach to overcome these obstacles through the development of recombinant baculoviruses. Recent advances include the development of BACMID systems (bacterial artificial chromosomes) that facilitate genetic manipulation through site-specific recombination and transposition. Future research directions include co-expression of multiple neurotoxins to achieve synergistic effects and broaden the host range, whereby genetically modified baculoviruses may prove quite valuable for sustainable pest management.
BACMID, Baculovirus, Genetic engineering, Insect virus, Pest management
