ABSTRACT The soil is the most important environmental reservoir for nucleopolyhedrovirus occlusion bodies (OBs). We employed a diet + soil bioassay technique to demonstrate that the earthworm Amynthas gracilus was capable of vertical transport of Spodoptera frugiperda multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (SfMNPV) occlusion bodies (OBs) under field conditions. Incubation of OBs with earthworms in sand did not adversely affect the prevalence of virus-induced mortality, but variation in insect mortality was markedly increased, possibly due to changes in the particle size distribution following earthworm processing of OB-contaminated sand. We conclude that earthworms are likely to interact frequently with soil OB populations.

中文翻译：

---

蚯蚓 Amynthas gracilus 在土壤中核多角体病毒包涵体的垂直扩散：基于实地的估计

摘要 土壤是核多角体病毒包涵体 (OB) 最重要的环境储存库。我们采用饮食 + 土壤生物测定技术来证明蚯蚓 Amynthas gracilus 能够在田间条件下垂直运输草地贪夜蛾多核多角体病毒 (SfMNPV) 包涵体 (OB)。将 OB 与沙子中的蚯蚓一起孵化并没有对病毒引起的死亡率产生不利影响，但昆虫死亡率的变化显着增加，这可能是由于蚯蚓处理 OB 污染的沙子后粒径分布发生了变化。我们得出结论，蚯蚓可能与土壤 OB 种群频繁相互作用。