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Li Z, Zhang N, Zhang T, Wang Z, Li J, Wang M, Hu Z, Wang X. AcMNPV P74 is cleaved at R325 and R334 by proteinases of both OB and BBMV to expose a potential fusion peptide for oral infection. J Virol 2024; 98:e0023524. [PMID: 38775478 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00235-24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 04/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024] Open
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhuorui Li
- Key Laboratory of Virology and Biosafety, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Nan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Virology and Biosafety, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Tao Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Virology and Biosafety, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Zhiying Wang
- Key Laboratory of Virology and Biosafety, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Jiang Li
- Key Laboratory of Virology and Biosafety, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Manli Wang
- Key Laboratory of Virology and Biosafety, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Zhihong Hu
- Key Laboratory of Virology and Biosafety, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Xi Wang
- Key Laboratory of Virology and Biosafety, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
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Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera) Larval Hemolymph in Response to Autographa californica Nucleopolyhedrovirus in Differentially Resistant Strains. Processes (Basel) 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/pr9081401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) is a kind of pathogen that causes huge economic losses to silkworm production. Although Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) and BmNPV are both baculoviruses, the host domains of these two viruses have almost no intersection in nature. Recently, it has been found that some silkworms could be infected by recombinant AcMNPV through a puncture, which provided valuable material for studying the infection mechanism of baculovirus to silkworm. In this study, comparative transcriptomics was used to analyse the hemolymph of two differentially resistant strains following AcMNPV inoculation. There were 678 DEGs in p50 and 515 DEGs in C108 following viral infection. Among them, the upregulation and downregulation of DEGs were similar in p50; however, the upregulated DEGs were nearly twice as numerous as the downregulated DEGs in C108. The DEGs in different resistant strains differed by GO enrichment. Based on KEGG enrichment, DEGs were mainly enriched in metabolic pathways in p50 and the apoptosis pathway in C108. Moreover, 13 genes involved in metabolic pathways and 11 genes involved in the apoptosis pathway were analysed. Among the DEGs involved in apoptosis, the function of BmTex261 in viral infection was analysed. The BmTex261 showed the highest expression in hemolymph and a significant response to viral infection in the hemolymph of C108, indicating that it is involved in anti-AcMNPV infection. This was further validated by the significantly decreased expression of viral gene lef3 after overexpression of BmTex261 in BmN cells. The results provide a theoretical reference for the molecular mechanism of resistance to BmNPV in silkworms.
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Boogaard B, van Oers MM, van Lent JWM. An Advanced View on Baculovirus per Os Infectivity Factors. INSECTS 2018; 9:insects9030084. [PMID: 30018247 PMCID: PMC6164829 DOI: 10.3390/insects9030084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2018] [Revised: 07/04/2018] [Accepted: 07/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Baculoviruses are arthropod-specific large DNA viruses that orally infect the larvae of lepidopteran, hymenopteran and dipteran insect species. These larvae become infected when they eat a food source that is contaminated with viral occlusion bodies (OBs). These OBs contain occlusion-derived viruses (ODVs), which are released upon ingestion of the OBs and infect the endothelial midgut cells. At least nine different ODV envelope proteins are essential for this oral infectivity and these are denoted per os infectivity factors (PIFs). Seven of these PIFs form a complex, consisting of PIF1, 2, 3 and 4 that form a stable core complex and PIF0 (P74), PIF6 and PIF8 (P95) that associate with this complex with lower affinity than the core components. The existence of a PIF complex and the fact that the pif genes are conserved in baculovirus genomes suggests that PIF-proteins cooperatively mediate oral infectivity rather than as individual functional entities. This review therefore discusses the knowledge obtained for individual PIFs in light of their relationship with other members of the PIF complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bob Boogaard
- Laboratory of Virology, Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Monique M van Oers
- Laboratory of Virology, Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Jan W M van Lent
- Laboratory of Virology, Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
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Kong M, Zuo H, Zhu F, Hu Z, Chen L, Yang Y, Lv P, Yao Q, Chen K. The interaction between baculoviruses and their insect hosts. DEVELOPMENTAL AND COMPARATIVE IMMUNOLOGY 2018; 83:114-123. [PMID: 29408049 DOI: 10.1016/j.dci.2018.01.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2017] [Revised: 01/26/2018] [Accepted: 01/26/2018] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Baculoviruses are double-stranded circular DNA viruses that infect arthropods via the midgut. Because of their superiority as eukaryotic expression systems and their importance as biopesticides, extensive research on the functions of baculovirus genes as well as on the host response to baculovirus infection has been carried out, including transcriptomic and proteomic analyses of the midgut. The morphological and cellular changes caused by baculovirus infection are also important to better understand the infection pathway. Thanks to these previous studies, we now have a clearer picture of the mechanisms of action of the virus and of host immunity. In this paper, we systematically reviewed studies on the interaction between baculoviruses and their insect hosts. By better understanding these interactions, baculoviruses can be developed for use as more efficient biopesticides to improve agricultural development in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming Kong
- Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212013, China
| | - Huan Zuo
- Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212013, China
| | - Feifei Zhu
- Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212013, China
| | - Zhaoyang Hu
- Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212013, China
| | - Liang Chen
- Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212013, China
| | - Yanhua Yang
- Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212013, China
| | - Peng Lv
- Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212013, China
| | - Qin Yao
- Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212013, China
| | - Keping Chen
- Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212013, China.
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Liao L, Hou D, Huang H, Wang M, Deng F, Wang H, Hu Z, Zhang T. Identification of the epitopes of monoclonal antibodies against P74 of Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus. Virol Sin 2013; 28:360-7. [PMID: 24306759 DOI: 10.1007/s12250-013-3393-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2013] [Accepted: 11/25/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
P74 is a per os infectivity factor of baculovirus. Here, we report the production of three monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), denoted as 20D9, 20F9 and 21E1, raised against P74 of Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus (HearNPV), and the identification of their recognition epitopes. The full-length P74, without the transmembrane domains at the C-terminus, was first divided into three segments (N, M and C, respectively), based on the proposed cleavage model for the protein, which were then expressed individually. Western blot analyses revealed specific cross-reactions with the N fragment, for both 20D9 and 21E1. Extensive truncation, followed by prokaryotic expression, of the P74 N fragment was then performed in order to screen for linear epitopes of P74. The recognition regions of 20D9 and 21E1 were revealed to be localized at R144-T153 and T199-C219, respectively. In addition, immunofluorescence microscopy indicated that 20D9 and 20F9 could recognize native P74 in HearNPV-infected cells. These findings will facilitate further investigations of the proteolytic processing of HearNPV P74, and of its involvement in virus-host interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Limin Liao
- Skate Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China
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Kariithi HM, Ince IA, Boeren S, Abd-Alla AMM, Parker AG, Aksoy S, Vlak JM, van Oers MM. The salivary secretome of the tsetse fly Glossina pallidipes (Diptera: Glossinidae) infected by salivary gland hypertrophy virus. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2011; 5:e1371. [PMID: 22132244 PMCID: PMC3222630 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0001371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2011] [Accepted: 09/05/2011] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The competence of the tsetse fly Glossina pallidipes (Diptera; Glossinidae) to acquire salivary gland hypertrophy virus (SGHV), to support virus replication and successfully transmit the virus depends on complex interactions between Glossina and SGHV macromolecules. Critical requisites to SGHV transmission are its replication and secretion of mature virions into the fly's salivary gland (SG) lumen. However, secretion of host proteins is of equal importance for successful transmission and requires cataloging of G. pallidipes secretome proteins from hypertrophied and non-hypertrophied SGs. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS After electrophoretic profiling and in-gel trypsin digestion, saliva proteins were analyzed by nano-LC-MS/MS. MaxQuant/Andromeda search of the MS data against the non-redundant (nr) GenBank database and a G. morsitans morsitans SG EST database, yielded a total of 521 hits, 31 of which were SGHV-encoded. On a false discovery rate limit of 1% and detection threshold of least 2 unique peptides per protein, the analysis resulted in 292 Glossina and 25 SGHV MS-supported proteins. When annotated by the Blast2GO suite, at least one gene ontology (GO) term could be assigned to 89.9% (285/317) of the detected proteins. Five (∼1.8%) Glossina and three (∼12%) SGHV proteins remained without a predicted function after blast searches against the nr database. Sixty-five of the 292 detected Glossina proteins contained an N-terminal signal/secretion peptide sequence. Eight of the SGHV proteins were predicted to be non-structural (NS), and fourteen are known structural (VP) proteins. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE SGHV alters the protein expression pattern in Glossina. The G. pallidipes SG secretome encompasses a spectrum of proteins that may be required during the SGHV infection cycle. These detected proteins have putative interactions with at least 21 of the 25 SGHV-encoded proteins. Our findings opens venues for developing novel SGHV mitigation strategies to block SGHV infections in tsetse production facilities such as using SGHV-specific antibodies and phage display-selected gut epithelia-binding peptides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henry M. Kariithi
- Laboratory of Virology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Insect Pest Control Laboratory, Programme of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ikbal A. Ince
- Laboratory of Virology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Department of Genetics and Bioengineering, Yeditepe University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Sjef Boeren
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Adly M. M. Abd-Alla
- Insect Pest Control Laboratory, Programme of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria
| | - Andrew G. Parker
- Insect Pest Control Laboratory, Programme of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria
| | - Serap Aksoy
- Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Just M. Vlak
- Laboratory of Virology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
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In situ cleavage of baculovirus occlusion-derived virus receptor binding protein P74 in the peroral infectivity complex. J Virol 2011; 85:10710-8. [PMID: 21849453 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.05110-11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Proteolytic processing of viral membrane proteins is common among enveloped viruses and facilitates virus entry. The Autographa californica multicapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) occlusion-derived virus (ODV) protein P74 is part of a complex of essential peroral infectivity factors (PIFs). Here we report that P74 is efficiently cleaved into two fragments of about equal size by an occlusion body (OB) endogenous alkaline protease during ODV release when AcMNPV OBs are derived from larvae. The cleavage is specific for P74, since the other known peroral infectivity factors in the same complex (PIF1, PIF2, and PIF3) were not cleaved under the same conditions. P74 cleavage was not observed in OBs produced in three different insect cell lines, suggesting a larval host origin of the responsible protease. P74 in OBs produced in larvae of two different host species was cleaved into fragments with the same apparent molecular mass, indicating that the virus incorporates a similar alkaline protease from different hosts. Coimmunoprecipitation analysis revealed that the two P74 subunit fragments remain associated with the recently discovered PIF complex. We propose that under in vivo ODV infection conditions, P74 undergoes two sequential cleavage events, the first one being performed by an ODV-associated host alkaline protease and the second carried out by trypsin in the host midgut.
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Slack JM, Lawrence SD, Krell PJ, Arif BM. A soluble form of P74 can act as a per os infectivity factor to the Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus. J Gen Virol 2009; 91:915-8. [PMID: 20007360 DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.017145-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The baculovirus occlusion-derived virion (ODV) is required to spread virus infection among insect hosts via the per os route. The Autographa californica multicapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus P74 protein is an ODV envelope protein that is essential for ODVs to be infectious. P74 is anchored in the ODV envelope by a C-terminal transmembrane anchor domain and is N-terminally exposed on the ODV surface. In the present study, a series of N-terminal and C-terminal truncation mutants of P74 were evaluated for their ability to rescue per os infectivity of the P74-null virus, AcLP4. It was discovered that a P74 truncation mutant lacking the C-terminal transmembrane anchor domain of P74 was able to rescue per os infection. This result shows that a soluble form of P74 retains per os infectivity factor function and suggests that P74 may be complexed with other proteins in the ODV envelope.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey M Slack
- Great Lakes Forestry Centre, Sault Ste Marie, ON P6A 2E5, Canada
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9
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Gatehouse HS, Poulton J, Markwick NP, Gatehouse LN, Ward VK, Young VL, Luo Z, Schaffer R, Christeller JT. Changes in gene expression in the permissive larval host lightbrown apple moth (Epiphyas postvittana, Tortricidae) in response to EppoNPV (Baculoviridae) infection. INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2009; 18:635-648. [PMID: 19754741 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2583.2009.00904.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Host cell and virus gene expression were measured five days after per os inoculation of 3rd instar lightbrown apple moth (LBAM) larvae with the Epiphyas postvittana nucleopolyhedrovirus (EppoNPV). Microarray analysis identified 84 insect genes that were up-regulated and 18 genes that were down-regulated in virus-infected larvae compared with uninfected larvae. From the 134 viral open reading frames represented on the microarray, 81 genes showed strong expression. Of the 38 functionally identifiable regulated insect genes, 23 coded for proteins that have roles in one of five processes; regulation of transcription and translation, induction of apoptosis, and maintenance of both juvenility and actin cytoskeletal integrity. Of the 34 functionally identifiable viral genes that were most strongly expressed, 12 had functions associated with these five processes, as did a further seven viral genes which were expressed at slightly lower levels. A survey of the LBAM-expressed sequence tag library identified further genes involved in these processes. In total, 135 insect genes and 38 viral genes were analysed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Twenty-one insect genes were strongly up-regulated and 31 genes strongly down-regulated. All 38 viral genes examined were highly expressed. These data suggest that induction of apoptosis and regulation of juvenility are the major 'battlegrounds' between virus and insect, with the majority of changes observed representing viral control of insect gene expression. Transcription and translational effects seem to be exerted largely through modulation of mRNA and protein degradation. Examples of attempts by the insect to repel the infection via changes in gene expression within these same processes were, however, also noted. The data also showed the extent to which viral transcription dominated in the infected insects at five days post inoculation.
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Affiliation(s)
- H S Gatehouse
- Plant and Food Research Institute, Palmerston North, New Zealand
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Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus ORF51 encodes a budded virus envelope associated protein. Virus Genes 2008; 38:171-7. [PMID: 19085095 DOI: 10.1007/s11262-008-0312-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2008] [Accepted: 11/26/2008] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) ORF 51 (Bm51) is a gene present in many lepidopteran NPVs, but its function is unknown. In this study, Bm51 was characterized. Transcripts of Bm51 were detected from 4.5 through 72 hour post infection (h p.i.) by RT-PCR. The corresponding protein was detected from 6 to 72 h p.i. in BmNPV-infected BmN cells by western blot analysis using a polyclonal antibody against Bm51. Western blot assay of occlusion-derived virus and budded virus (BV) preparations revealed that Bm51 encodes a 23-kDa structural protein that is associated with BV and is located in the envelope fraction of budded virions. The protein was temporarily called BV-E23. In addition immunofluorescence microscopy demonstrated that the protein was present within the cytoplasm and nuclei in virus-infected cells. In conclusion, the available data suggest that Bm51 is a functional ORF of BmNPV and encodes a protein expressed in the early stage of the infection cycle that is associated with the BV envelope.
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Slack JM, Lawrence SD, Krell PJ, Arif BM. Trypsin cleavage of the baculovirus occlusion-derived virus attachment protein P74 is prerequisite in per os infection. J Gen Virol 2008; 89:2388-2397. [PMID: 18796706 DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.2008/002543-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Baculovirus occlusion-derived virions (ODVs) contain a number of infectivity factors essential for the initiation of infection in larval midgut cells. Deletion of any of these factors neutralizes infectivity by the per os route. We have observed that P74 of the group I alphabaculovirus Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) is N-terminally cleaved when a soluble form of the protein was incubated with insect midgut tissues under alkaline conditions and that cleavage was prevented by soybean trypsin inhibitor (SBTI). Presently, biological assays were carried out that suggest SBTI inhibits and trypsin enhances baculovirus per os infectivity. We developed a method to rescue per os infectivity of a P74 null virus involving co-transfection of viral DNA with a plasmid that transiently expresses p74. We used this plasmid rescue method to functionally characterize P74. A series of site-directed mutants were generated at the N terminus to evaluate if trypsin cleavage sites were necessary for function. Mutagenesis of R195, R196 and R199 compromised per os infectivity and rendered P74 resistant to midgut trypsin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey M Slack
- Great Lakes Forestry Centre, Sault Ste Marie, ON P6A 2E5, Canada
| | | | - Peter J Krell
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Basil M Arif
- Great Lakes Forestry Centre, Sault Ste Marie, ON P6A 2E5, Canada
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Abstract
Baculoviruses play an important ecological role regulating the size of insect populations. For many years, baculoviruses have been applied as targeted biocontrol agents against forestry and agriculture pests. Baculovirus insecticides are effective against insect pests such as velvetbean caterpillar (Anticarsia gemmatalis ), cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa zea ), and gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar ). Baculoviruses are transmitted to insects by the oral route mediated by the occlusion-derived virus (ODV). The ODV is also specialized to exploit the insect midgut that is one of the most extreme biological environments where the viruses are subject to caustic pH and digestive proteases. The molecular biology of the ODV reveals new frontiers in protein chemistry. Finally, ODVs establishes infection in insect gut tissues that are virtually nonsupportive to virus replication and which are continuously sloughed away. ODVs carry with them a battery of proteins that enable them to rapidly exploit and harness these unstable cells for virus replication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffery Slack
- Laboratory for Molecular Virology, Great Lakes Forestry Centre, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
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