Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus ac66 is required for the efficient egress of nucleocapsids from the nucleus, general synthesis of preoccluded virions and occlusion body formation
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, 510275 Guangzhou (China)
Although orf66 (ac66) of Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) is conserved in all sequenced lepidopteran baculovirus genomes, its function is not known. This paper describes generation of an ac66 knockout AcMNPV bacmid mutant and analyses of the influence of ac66 deletion on the virus replication in Sf-9 cells so as to determine the role of ac66 in the viral life cycle. Results indicated that budded virus (BV) yields were reduced over 99% in ac66-null mutant infected cells in comparison to that in wild-type virus infected cells. Optical microscopy revealed that occlusion body synthesis was significantly reduced in the ac66 knockout bacmid-transfected cells. In addition, ac66 deletion interrupted preoccluded virion synthesis. The mutant phenotype was rescued by an ac66 repair bacmid. On the other hand, real-time PCR analysis indicated that ac66 deletion did not affect the levels of viral DNA replication. Electron microscopy revealed that ac66 is not essential for nucleocapsid assembly, but for the efficient transport of nucleocapsids from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. These results suggested that ac66 plays an important role for the efficient exit of nucleocapsids from the nucleus to the cytoplasm for BV synthesis as well as for preoccluded virion and occlusion synthesis.
- OSTI ID:
- 21140982
- Journal Information:
- Virology, Vol. 374, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2007.12.033; PII: S0042-6822(07)00853-7; Copyright (c) 2007 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0042-6822
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus ac142, a core gene that is essential for BV production and ODV envelopment
Functional characterization of Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus gp16 (ac130)