Recombinant wild type virus containing the cry1Ab gene was detected as blue occlusion-negative plaques in monolayers of Sf cells grown in the presence of X-Gal. In Sf cells infected with plaque-purified recombinant virus, the cry1Ab gene was expressed to yield a protein of approximately 82-kDa, as determined by immunoblot analysis. The toxicity of the recombinant virus expressing the insecticidal crystal protein (ICP) was compared to that of the wild-type virus. Infected-cell extract was toxic to cotton leaf worm Spodoptera littoralis second instar larvae and the estimated LC50 was 1.7 μg/ml for the recombinant virus compared with that of wild-type virus which was 10 μg/ml.