Baculoviruses are widely used as bioagents for controlling insect populations. Although they are successfully replicated in cell cultures, still the production in laboratory reared larvae is the cheapest way for large-scale production of viral agents. Commercial products are prepared as liquid suspensions and as dried powders. We investigated the stability of two formulations of S. exigua nuclear polyhedrosis virus (SeMNPV) stored at +4°C for over twenty years as a powder (prepared by aceton precipitation) and in a suspension. The biological activity and biochemical properties of these formulations were examinated. Viral biological activity of the suspension was 1 OOO times better than the activity of powdered virus. Aceton precipitation method caused the significant loss of virus activity. Electrophoretic analysis of proteins showed degradation of polyhedrin peptide. There was also partial DNA degradation. These changes may lead to decreased bioactivity of powdered SeMNPV virus.

A nucleopolyhedrovirus isolated from the beet armyworm Spodoptera exigua (Polish laboratory culture), SeMNPV (P), morphologically similar to the viral bioinsecticide virus Spod-XR, was characterized molecularly and biologically. Phylogenetic analysis based on three conserved baculovirus genes, polh, lef-8 and pif-2, showed the highest homology of SeMNPV (P) to Mamestra brassicae (Mb) MNPV and M. configurata (Maco) MNPV, and much less to SeMNPV (Spod-XR). These findings were confirmed by genomic DNA restriction profile analyses. Bioassays revealed that SeMNPV isolated from the commercial bioinsecticide Spod-X^R was themost infectious for S. exigua, while the infectivity of SeMNPV (P) and MbMNPV was significantly lower. These data suggest that SeMNPV (P) is a variant of MbMNPV.

This text is a presentation of the project of a revisionist history of feminist art in Poland. In its first part, I draw attention to the fact that the conceptual frameworks that shape the narratives of the relationship between art and feminism, both global and local, have proved to be extremely durable. In the next two sections of the article, I present a revisionist history of feminist art in practice with brief analyses of three works: Banner-Corset and Cover for My Lover by Maria Pinińska-Bereś (both 1967) and Consumer Art by Natalia LL (1972–1975).