Baculoviruses are one of the largest viruses that replicate in the nucleus of their host cells. During infection, the rod-shape, 250-nm long nucleocapsid delivers its genome into the nucleus. Electron microscopy evidence suggests that baculoviruses, specifically the Alphabaculoviruses (nucleopolyhedroviruses) and the Betabaculoviruses (granuloviruses), have evolved two very distinct modes for d...

Baculoviruses are insect pathogens with a relatively slow speed of action, and this has limited their use as control agents of insect pests. Introduction into baculoviruses of genes which code for proteins interfering specifically with insect metabolism or metamorphosis, such as toxins, hormones, and enzymes, may enhance the pathogenicity of these viruses. The complete insecticidal crystal prot...

DNA encoding ricin B chain was derived from preproricin genomic DNA and ligated into the baculovirus transfer vector, pAcGP67A. Co-transfection of Spodoptera frugiperda Sf9 cells with BaculoGold DNA was followed by limiting dilution purification of recombinant baculovirus. Infection of SF9 cells at a multiplicity of infection of 1 in the presence of 25 mM lactose produced 3 mg/l of soluble, gly...

The genome sequence of a baculovirus from Choristoneura murinana is 124,689 bp, with a G+C content of 50%, and contains 148 putative open reading frames. The virus is a member of the group I alphabaculoviruses and is most closely related to several other viruses that infect Choristoneura species.

Highly homologous sequences 154-157 bp in length grouped under the name of "conserved non-protein-coding element" (CNE) were revealed in all of the sequenced genomes of baculoviruses belonging to the genus Alphabaculovirus. A CNE alignment led to the detection of a set of highly conserved nucleotide clusters that occupy strictly conserved positions in the CNE sequence. The significant length of...

Recombinant adeno-associated viruses (rAAV) are largely used for gene transfer in research, preclinical developments, and clinical trials. Their broad in vivo biodistribution and long-term efficacy in postmitotic tissues make them good candidates for numerous gene transfer applications. Upstream processes able to produce large amounts of rAAV were developed, particularly those using baculovirus...

Baculoviruses are known to regulate many insect populations in nature. Their host-specificity is very high, usually restricted to a single or a few closely related insect species. They are amongst the safest pesticides, with no or negligible effects on non-target organisms, including beneficial insects, vertebrates and plants. Baculovirus-based pesticides are compatible with integrated pest man...

Cadherins are Ca(2+)-dependent cell adhesion molecules that mediate cell adhesion by homophilic binding. Structural and functional analysis of the extracellular part of cadherins that mediates this binding has often been hampered by the availability of sufficient amount of protein. Therefore, we have expressed the extracellular region of E-cadherin (uvomorulin) using the baculovirus expression ...

The baculovirus fusogenic activity depends on the low pH conformation of virally-encoded trimeric glycoprotein, gp64. We used two experimental approaches to investigate whether monomers, trimers, and/or higher order oligomers are functionally involved in gp64 fusion machine. First, dithiothreitol (DTT)- based reduction of intersubunit disulfides was found to reversibly inhibit fusion, as assaye...

The gene coding for the envelope (E) glycoprotein of dengue-2 virus was cloned into baculovirus (Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus). The recombinant virus contained the entire E protein gene, preceded by 38 nucleotides from the end of the prematrix glycoprotein gene and followed by the first 83 nucleotides of nonstructural protein 1. When expressed in Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9)...