title: Characterization of the viral fibroblast growth factor homolog of Helicoverpa armigera single nucleopolyhedrovirus.
abstract: Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) is found throughout multicellular organisms; however, fgf homologs (vfgf) have only been identified among viruses in lepidopteran baculoviruses. The function of vFGFs from Group I alphabaculoviruses, including Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) and Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV), involves accelerated killing of infected larvae by both viruses. The vFGF of Group II alphabaculovirus is structurally different from that of Group I alphabaculovirus, with a larger C-terminal region and additional N-linked glycosylation sites. In this study, we characterized the Group II alphabaculovirus vFGF of Helicoverpa armigera single nucleopolyhedrovirus (HearNPV). The transcription and expression of vfgf was detected at 3 h and 16 h post-infection in HearNPV-infected cells. To further study vFGF function, we constructed vfgf-knockout and -repaired HearNPV bacmids and investigated their affect in both cultured cells and insects. Deletion of vfgf had no effect on budded-virus production or viral DNA replication in cultured HzAM1 cells. However, bioassays showed that HearNPV vfgf deletion significantly increased the median lethal dose and delayed the median lethal time by ∼12 h in the host insect when the virus was delivered orally. These results suggested that vFGF is an important virulent factor for HearNPV infection and propagation in vivo.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Virology and China Center for Virus Culture Collection, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China.|School of Tropical and Laboratory Medicine, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, 571101, China.
authors.forename: Feifei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Virology and China Center for Virus Culture Collection, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China.
authors.forename: Ruikun
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Virology and China Center for Virus Culture Collection, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China.
authors.forename: Wenhua
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kuang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Virology and China Center for Virus Culture Collection, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China.
authors.forename: Guang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Virology and China Center for Virus Culture Collection, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China.
authors.forename: Hualin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Virology and China Center for Virus Culture Collection, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Virology and China Center for Virus Culture Collection, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China.
authors.forename: Zhihong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Virology and China Center for Virus Culture Collection, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China. wangml@wh.iov.cn.
authors.forename: Manli
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016367:Baculoviridae; D002460:Cell Line; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D007915:Lepidoptera / Q000821:virology*; D017924:Nucleopolyhedroviruses / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D014162:Transfection; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D014764:Viral Proteins; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors
keywords: Helicoverpa armigera single nucleopolyhedrovirus (HearNPV); deletion; function; infectivity; vfgf