Histone H3-lysine(9) (H3K9) trimethyltransferase gene Su(var) 3-9 was cloned and identified in three Spodoptera insects, Spodopterafrugiperda (S. frugiperda), S. exigua and S. litura. Sequence analysis showed that Spodoptera Su(var) 3-9 is highly conserved evolutionarily. Su(var) 3-9 protein was found to be localized in the nucleus in Sf9 cells, and interact with histone H3, and the heterochrom...

Budded virions (BV) of the baculovirus Autographa californica multicapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) contain a major envelope glycoprotein known as GP64, which was previously shown to be palmitoylated. In the present study, we used truncation and amino acid substitution mutations to map the palmitoylation site to cysteine residue 503. Palmitoylation of GP64 was not detected when Cys503 was r...

Mitochondria have been shown to play an important role in apoptosis using mammalian cell lines. However, this seems not to be the case in Drosophila, an insect model organism; thus more in-depth studies of insect cell apoptosis are necessary. In the present study, mitochondrial involvement during azadirachtin- and camptothecin-induced apoptosis in Spodoptera frugiperda Sf9 cells (isolated from ...

Spodoptera frugiperda SF9 cells infected with mutants of the Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) which lack a functional p35 gene undergo apoptosis, aborting the viral infection. The Spodoptera littoralis nucleopolyhedrovirus (SlNPV) was able to suppress apoptosis triggered by vDeltaP35K/pol+, an AcMNPV p35 null mutant. To identify the putative apoptotic suppressor gene of SlNP...

The phosphorylation sites on the human, 85-kDa cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) were identified using recombinant cPLA2 expressed in Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) cells. Analysis by high performance liquid chromatography of tryptic digests of 32P-labeled recombinant cPLA2 showed four major peaks of radiolabeled phosphopeptides. The phosphorylated residues were identified as Ser-437, Ser-454, Se...

The full-length murine erythropoietin receptor was expressed in Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) cells using a recombinant baculovirus vector. Erythropoietin receptor protein production was maximal 48 hours after infection, as determined by metabolic labeling and immunoblotting; receptor protein varied in molecular mass from 62 to 76 kD. Erythropoietin receptors produced in Sf9 cells could be solubi...

The 85-kDa cytosolic PLA2 (cPLA2) mediates agonist-induced arachidonic acid release in many cell models, including mouse peritoneal macrophages. cPLA2 is regulated by an increase in intracellular calcium, which binds to an amino-terminal C2 domain and induces its translocation to the nuclear envelope and endoplasmic reticulum. Phosphorylation of cPLA2 on S505 by mitogen-activated protein kinase...

Pyridalyl is a novel synthetic insecticide discovered by Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd. and has been developed globally as the trade names, Pleo, or Sumipleo. The compound is highly effective against various pests of Lepidoptera, Thysanoptera, Diptera and certain Acari, including resistant strains that are less susceptible or resistant to existing insecticides. The lepidopterous larvae treated with...

The aim of this work has been to characterize the effects of conditioned medium (CM) on insect cell productivity and physiology in order to get a better understanding about the mechanisms that regulate productivity in serum-free media. Two cell lines have been investigated, Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) and Trichoplusia ni (T. ni, BTI-Tn-5B14). The baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) was ...

The rat tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT) gene is a liver-specific and glucocorticoid-inducible gene. Previous studies have shown that the TAT promoter (TAT0.35; nt -350 to +1) is able to sustain liver-specific gene expression both in transient transfection and in a transcription assay in vitro [Schweizer-Groyer, Groyer, Cadepond, Grange, Baulieu and Pictet (1994) Nucleic Acids Res. 22, 1583-1592...