The silencing suppressor (NSs) protein of the plant virus Tomato spotted wilt virus enhances heterologous protein expression and baculovirus pathogenicity in cells and lepidopteran insects.
In this work, we showed that cell death induced by a recombinant (vAcNSs) Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) expressing the silencing suppressor (NSs) protein of Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) was enhanced on permissive and semipermissive cell lines. The expression of a heterologous gene (firefly luciferase) during co-infection of insect cells with vAcNSs and a second recombinant baculovirus (vAgppolhfluc) was shown to increase when compared to single vAgppolhfluc infections. Furthermore, the vAcNSs mean time-to-death values were significantly lower than those for wild-type AcMNPV on larvae of Spodoptera frugiperda and Anticarsia gemmatalis. These results showed that the TSWV-NSs protein could efficiently increase heterologous protein expression in insect cells as well as baculovirus pathogenicity and virulence, probably by suppressing the gene-silencing machinery in insects.
Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasília, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil. virginiaoliveira@uft.edu.br.
Virgínia Carla
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4855-8797
VC
de Oliveira
Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasília, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil.
Fabricio
F
da Silva Morgado
Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasília, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil.
Daniel Mendes Pereira
DM
Ardisson-Araújo
Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasília, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil.
Renato Oliveira
RO
Resende
Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasília, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil.
Bergmann Morais
BM
Ribeiro
D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D015870:Gene Expression; D020868:Gene Silencing; D009036:Moths / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology*; D017924:Nucleopolyhedroviruses / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D018411:Spodoptera / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology*; D017865:Tospovirus / Q000235:genetics*; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D014774:Virulence
D014764:Viral Proteins