Baculoviruses Sophisticated Pathogens of Insects.docVIP

Pearls Baculoviruses:SophisticatedPathogensofInsects RollieJ.Clem*,A.LorenaPassarelli* DivisionofBiology,KansasStateUniversity,Manhattan,Kansas,UnitedStatesofAmerica The baculoviruses (family: Baculoviridae) are a group of large DNAvirusesthatinfectinsects.Thesevirusesarewellknownfor their utility and versatility as gene expression vectors, biological pesticides,andvectorsfortransductionofmammaliancells[1–3]. However,baculovirusesaremuchmorethanjustusefullaboratory tools. The rich and fascinating biology associated with these viruses provides many interesting examples of virus-host interac- tionsandvirusmodificationofhostprocesses. night,toavoidpredation.Incontrast,infectedlarvaeclimbtothe tops of trees and then die, raining occluded virus down on the vegetation below (Figure 2). In yet another example of virus- induced behavior modification, increased larval locomotory activity is induced by expression of a viral protein called protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) [9,10]. Infected larvae exhibit increasedwanderingbehavior,whichisalsopresumedtoincrease virustransmission.TheviralPTPisanactivephosphataseanda component of the virion. In one report, the active site of the AcMNPVPTPenzymewasrequiredforthestimulationoflarval wandering [9]. However, another report on the ptp gene from Bombyx mori NPV found that the active site was not required for stimulating wandering, but that the mutant virus lacking ptp was less able to infect the brain [10]. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that both the egt and ptp genes appear to have a lepidopteran origin, as do many other baculovirus accessory genes, indicating thatbaculoviruseshaveacquiredmanyadvantageousgenesduring coevolutionwiththeirhosts. While a few known baculoviruses infect larval mosquitoes or sawflies, the large majority of them infect caterpillars, the larval stagesofinsectsfromtheorderLepidoptera(mothsandbutterflies). Baculoviruses typically have narrow hostranges, oftenlimited to justoneorafewrelatedinsectspecies,a