Identification of Trichoplusia ni ascovirus 2c virion structural proteins.

Ascoviruses are a family of insect viruses with circular, double-stranded DNA genomes. With the sequencing of the Trichoplusia ni ascovirus 2c (TnAV-2c) genome, the virion structural proteins were identified by using tandem mass spectrometry. From at least eight protein bands visible on a Coomassie blue-stained gel of TnAV-2c virion proteins, seven bands generated protein sequences that matched predicted open reading frames (ORFs) in the genome, i.e. ORFs 2, 43, 115, 141, 142, 147 and 153. Among these ORFs, only ORF153, encoding the major capsid protein, has been characterized previously.