Construction and Characterization of a Novel Bacmid AcBac-Syn Based on a Synthesized Baculovirus Genome

Development of viral infectious clones and their applications based on yeast and bacterial artificial chromosome platforms

Infectious Clones represent a foundational technique in the field of reverse genetics, allowing for the construction and manipulation of full-length viral genomes. The main methods currently used for constructing viral infectious clones include Transformation-associated recombination (TAR), which is based on Yeast Artificial Chromosome (YAC) and Bacterial Artificial Chromosome (BAC). The YAC and BAC systems are powerful tools that enable the clones and manipulation of large DNA fragments, making them well-suited for the construction of full-length viral genomes. These methods have been successfully applied to construct infectious clones for a wide range of viruses, including coronaviruses, herpesviruses, flaviviruses and baculoviruses. The rescued recombinant viruses from these infectious clones have been widely used in various research areas, such as vaccine development, antiviral drug screening, pathogenesis and virulence studies, gene therapy and vector design. However, as different viruses possess unique biological characteristics, the challenge remains in how to rapidly obtain infectious clones for future research. In summary, this review introduced the development and applications of infectious clones, with a focus on the YAC, BAC and combined YAC-BAC technologies. We emphasize the importance of these platforms in various research areas and aim to provide deeper insights that can advance the platform and broaden its application horizons.

Conserved Cysteines of a Putative Zinc Finger Motif in P48 Are Important for the Nuclear Egress of Nucleocapsids and the Envelopment of Occlusion-Derived Virions

The open reading frame 103 (p48) of Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) is one of the 38 core baculovirus genes. p48 has been shown to be essential for the production of infectious budded virions (BVs), nuclear egress of nucleocapsids, envelopment of the nucleocapsid, and embedding of occlusion-derived virions (ODVs) into occlusion bodies (OBs). However, the structure-function relationship of P48 remains unclear. In this study, we showed that four conserved cysteines (C127, C130, C138, and C141) in P48 may form a zinc finger motif based on a predicted structure analysis, and we investigated the roles of these cysteines in P48 function. AcMNPV bacmids lacking p48 or containing mutated p48 were generated. Transfection/infection assays showed that C127, C130, C138, and C141 in P48 were crucial for infectious BV production. Electron microscopy analysis further confirmed that these four cysteines played critical roles in the transport of nucleocapsids out of the nucleus for BV production, and in ODV envelopment. These results demonstrate that the conserved cysteines C127, C130, C138, and C141, related to the putative zinc finger motif, are critical for P48 function in baculovirus infection.

AcMNPV P74 is cleaved at R325 and R334 by proteinases of both OB and BBMV to expose a potential fusion peptide for oral infection

Baculoviruses enter insect midgut epithelial cells via a set of occlusion-derived virion (ODV) envelope proteins called per os infectivity factors (PIFs). P74 of Autographa californica multicapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV), which was the first identified PIF, is cleaved by an endogenous proteinase embedded within the occlusion body during per os infection, but the target site(s) and function of the cleavage have not yet been ascertained. Here, based on bioinformatics analyses, we report that cleavage was predicted at an arginine and lysine-rich region in the middle of P74. A series of recombinant viruses with site-directed mutants in this region of P74 were generated. R325 or R334 was identified as primary cleavage site. In addition, we showed that P74 is also cleaved by brush border membrane vesicles (BBMV) of the host insect at R325 or R334, instead of R195, R196, and R199, as previously reported. Simultaneous mutations in R195, R196, and R199 lead to instability of P74 during ODV release. Bioassays showed that mutations at both R325 and R334 significantly affected oral infectivity. Taken together, our data show that both R325 and R334 of AcMNPV P74 are the primary cleavage site for both occlusion body endogenous proteinase and BBMV proteinase during ODV release and are critical for oral infection.

IMPORTANCE

Cleavage of viral envelope proteins is usually an important trigger for viral entry into host cells. Baculoviruses are insect-specific viruses that infect host insects via the oral route. P74, a per os infectivity factor of baculoviruses, is cleaved during viral entry. However, the function and precise cleavage sites of P74 remain unknown. In this study, we found that R325 or R334 between the N- and C-conserved domains of P74 was the primary cleavage site by proteinase either from the occlusion body or host midgut. The biological significance of cleavage seems to be the release of the potential fusion peptide at the N-terminus of the cleaved C-terminal P74. Our results shed light on the cleavage model of P74 and imply its role in membrane fusion in baculovirus per os infection.

Cysteines 128 and 250 are essential for the functions of the baculovirus core gene ac109

The open reading frame 109 (ac109) of Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) is one of the 38 core baculovirus genes. Ac109 was shown to be essential for the production of infectious budded virions (BV), envelopment of the nucleocapsid, and embedding of occlusion-derived virions (ODVs) into occlusion bodies (OBs). Herein, the roles of five cysteines with high conservation (C3, C116, C128, C250, and C325) in Ac109 function were investigated. AcMNPV bacmids lacking ac109 or containing single-mutated ac109 were generated. Transfection/infection assays showed that C128 and C250 in Ac109 were important for infectious BV production. Electron microscopy analysis further confirmed that these two cysteines played critical roles in nucleocapsid assembly, ODV envelopment, and embedding of ODVs into OBs. Altogether, these results demonstrate that the conserved residues Ac109 C128 and C250 are critical for baculovirus infection.

Improvement of protein production in baculovirus expression vector system by removing a total of 10 kb of nonessential fragments from Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus genome

Baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) is a powerful and versatile platform for recombinant protein production in insect cells. As the most frequently used baculovirus, Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) encodes 155 open reading frames (ORFs), including a considerable number of non-essential genes for the virus replication in cell culture. Studies have shown that protein production in BEVS can be improved by removing some viral dispensable genes, and these AcMNPV vectors also offer the possibility of accommodating larger exogenous gene fragments. In this study, we, respectively, deleted 14 DNA fragments from AcMNPV genome, each of them containing at least two contiguous genes that were known nonessential for viral replication in cell culture or functionally unknown. The effects of these fragment-deletions on virus replication and exogenous protein production were examined. The results showed that 11 of the 14 fragments, containing 43 genes, were dispensable for the virus replication in cultured cells. By detecting the expression of intracellularly expressed and secreted reporter proteins, we demonstrated that nine of the fragment-deletions benefited protein production in Sf9 cells and/or in High Five cells. After combining the deletion of some dispensable fragments, we obtained two AcMNPV vectors shortened by more than 10 kb but displayed an improved capacity for recombinant protein production. The deletion strategies used in this study has the potential to further improve the BEVS.

The Magic Staff: A Comprehensive Overview of Baculovirus-Based Technologies Applied to Human and Animal Health

Baculoviruses are enveloped, insect-specific viruses with large double-stranded DNA genomes. Among all the baculovirus species, Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) is the most studied. Due to its characteristics regarding biosafety, narrow host range and the availability of different platforms for modifying its genome, AcMNPV has become a powerful biotechnological tool. In this review, we will address the most widespread technological applications of baculoviruses. We will begin by summarizing their natural cycle both in larvae and in cell culture and how it can be exploited. Secondly, we will explore the different baculovirus-based protein expression systems (BEVS) and their multiple applications in the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industry. We will focus particularly on the production of vaccines, many of which are either currently commercialized or in advanced stages of development (e.g., Novavax, COVID-19 vaccine). In addition, recombinant baculoviruses can be used as efficient gene transduction and protein expression vectors in vertebrate cells (e.g., BacMam). Finally, we will extensively describe various gene therapy strategies based on baculoviruses applied to the treatment of different diseases. The main objective of this work is to provide an extensive up-to-date summary of the different biotechnological applications of baculoviruses, emphasizing the genetic modification strategies used in each field.

Advances in CRISPR-Cas9 for the Baculovirus Vector System: A Systematic Review

The baculovirus expression vector systems (BEVS) have been widely used for the recombinant production of proteins in insect cells and with high insert capacity. However, baculovirus does not replicate in mammalian cells; thus, the BacMam system, a heterogenous expression system that can infect certain mammalian cells, was developed. Since then, the BacMam system has enabled transgene expression via mammalian-specific promoters in human cells, and later, the MultiBacMam system enabled multi-protein expression in mammalian cells. In this review, we will cover the continual development of the BEVS in combination with CRPISPR-Cas technologies to drive genome-editing in mammalian cells. Additionally, we highlight the use of CRISPR-Cas in glycoengineering to potentially produce a new class of glycoprotein medicines in insect cells. Moreover, we anticipate CRISPR-Cas9 to play a crucial role in the development of protein expression systems, gene therapy, and advancing genome engineering applications in the future.

AC81 Is a Putative Disulfide Isomerase Involved in Baculoviral Disulfide Bond Formation

The correct formation of native disulfide bonds is critical for the proper structure and function of many proteins. Cellular disulfide bond formation pathways commonly consist of two parts: sulfhydryl oxidase-mediated oxidation and disulfide isomerase-mediated isomerization. Some large DNA viruses, such as baculoviruses, encode sulfhydryl oxidases, but viral disulfide isomerases have not yet been identified, although G4L in poxvirus has been suggested to serve such a function. Here, we report that the baculovirus core gene ac81 encodes a putative disulfide isomerase. ac81 is conserved in baculoviruses, nudiviruses, and hytrosaviruses. We found that AC81 homologs contain a typical thioredoxin fold conserved in disulfide isomerases. To determine the role of AC81, a series of Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) bacmids containing ac81 knockout or point mutations was generated, and the results showed that AC81 is essential for budded virus production, multinucleocapsid occlusion-derived virus (ODV) formation, and ODV embedding in occlusion bodies. Nonreducing Western blot analysis indicated that disulfide bond formation in per os infectivity factor 5 (PIF5), a substrate of the baculoviral sulfhydryl oxidase P33, was abnormal when ac81 was knocked out or mutated. Pulldown assays showed that AC81 interacted with PIF5 and P33 in infected cells. In addition, two critical regions that harbor key amino acids for function were identified in AC81. Taken together, our results suggest that AC81 is a key component involved in the baculovirus disulfide bond formation pathway and likely functions as a disulfide isomerase. IMPORTANCE Many large DNA viruses, such as poxvirus, asfarvirus, and baculovirus, encode their own sulfhydryl oxidase to facilitate the disulfide bond formation of viral proteins. Here, we show that AC81 functions as a putative disulfide isomerase and is involved in multiple functions of the baculovirus life cycle. Interestingly, AC81 and P33 (sulfhydryl oxidase) are conserved in baculoviruses, nudiviruses, and hytrosaviruses, which are all insect-specific large DNA viruses replicating in the nucleus, suggesting that viral disulfide bond formation is an ancient mechanism shared by these viruses.

Structural Characterization of Per Os Infectivity Factor 5 (PIF5) Reveals the Essential Role of Intramolecular Interactions in Baculoviral Oral Infectivity

Baculoviruses initiate oral infection in the highly alkaline midgut of insects via a group of envelope proteins called per os infectivity factors (PIFs). To date, no high-resolution structural information has been reported for any PIF. Here, we present the crystal structure of the PIF5 ectodomain (PIF5e) from Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) at a 2.2-Å resolution. It revealed an open cavity between the N-terminal E1 domain and the C-terminal E2 domain and a cysteine-rich region with three pairs of disulfide bonds in the E2 domain. Multiple conserved intramolecular interactions within PIF5 are essential for maintaining its tertiary structure. Two conserved arginines (Arg8 and Arg74) play critical roles in E1-E2 interactions, and mutagenesis analysis supported their crucial role in oral infection. Importantly, the reduction in the oral infectivity of the Arg8, Arg74, or cysteine mutant viruses was related to the proteolytic cleavage of PIF5 by the endogenous protease embedded in occlusion bodies during alkaline treatment. This suggested that the structural stability of PIF5 under physiological conditions in the insect midgut is critical for baculoviral oral infectivity. IMPORTANCEPer os infection mediated by PIFs is the highly complex mechanism by which baculoviruses initiate infection in insects. Previous studies revealed that multiple PIF proteins form a large PIF complex on the envelope of virions, while PIF5 functions independently of the PIF complex. Here, we report the crystal structure of AcMNPV PIF5e, which, to our knowledge, is the first atomic structure reported for a PIF protein. The structure revealed the precise locations of three previously proposed disulfide bonds and other conserved intramolecular interactions, which are important for the structural stability of PIF5 and are also essential for oral infectivity. These findings advance our understanding of the molecular mechanism of baculovirus oral infection under alkaline conditions.