title: Characterization of a baculovirus gene encoding a small conotoxinlike polypeptide.
abstract: We identified a gene of Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcMNPV) that encodes a small cysteine-rich polypeptide which has size and sequence similarity to omega-conotoxins, a class of calcium ion (Ca2+) channel inhibitors, found in the venom of cone snails. Transcriptional analysis indicated that the 159-bp open reading frame, which we named ctl, and a downstream 984-bp open reading frame are transcribed as a single 1.3-kb bicistronic late RNA. The mature ctl gene product was identified as a small secreted protein by high-pressure liquid chromatography fractionation of extracellular fluid. Viruses with a site-specific deletion in ctl appeared normal with regard to the kinetics and virulence of infection, both in vitro and in vivo. Although we studied the behavior of wild-type and mutant virus-infected insects in some detail, a biological role for ctl in AcMNPV infection remains to be established.
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens 30602.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Eldridge
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D016367:Baculoviridae / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D001681:Biological Assay; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D005814:Genes, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D007814:Larva / Q000187:drug effects; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009036:Moths / Q000187:drug effects / Q000382:microbiology*; D009154:Mutation; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014118:Toxins, Biological / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D014118:Toxins, Biological; D014764:Viral Proteins