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

AbstractAlthough 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

Characterization of AcMNPV with a deletion of ac69 gene

<p>ORF69 (Ac69) of <em>Autographa californica</em> multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (Ac<em>M</em>NPV) is conserved in some baculovirus genomes. Although it has been shown that Ac69 has cap 0-dependent methyltransferase activity and is not required for budded virus production in <em>Spodoptera frugiperda</em> Sf-9 cells, its role in occlusion-derived virus synthesis and virus oral infectivity is not known. This paper describes generation of an <em>ac69</em> knockout Ac<em>M</em>NPV bacmid mutant and analyses of the influence of <em>ac69</em> deletion on the viral infectivity in Sf-9 cells and <em>Trichoplusia ni</em> larvae so as to investigate the role of <em>ac69 in the viral life cycle. Results indicated that ac69</em> deletion has little effect on the production rates and morphogenesis of budded virus and occlusion-derived virus in Sf-9 cells. In addition, animal experiment revealed that the deletion mutant did not affect Ac<em>M</em>NPV infectivity for <em>Trichoplusia ni</em> larvae in LD₅₀ and LT₅₀ bioassay when administered orally. These results suggest that <em>ac69</em> may be dispensable for viral infectivity both in vitro and in vivo.</p