Journal of General Virology, Vol 79, 1563-1572, Copyright © 1998 by Society for General Microbiology

ARTICLES

Specificity of multiple homologous genomic regions in Spodoptera exigua nucleopolyhedrovirus DNA replication

R Broer, JG Heldens, EA van Strien, D Zuidema and JM Vlak
Department of Virology, Wageningen Agricultural University, The Netherlands.

The region upstream of the Spodoptera exigua multicapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (SeMNPV) ubiquitin gene contains four near- identical 68-bp-long palindromic repeats. This region, named Sehr6 and located at map unit (m.u.) 88 of the SeMNPV genome on pSeEcoRI-2.2, showed structural homology to previously identified homologous regions (hrs) in a number of other baculoviruses. Hrs function as enhancers of transcription and as putative origins (oris) of baculovirus DNA replication. Five additional hrs (Sehr1-Sehr5) were identified on the SeMNPV genome by Southern blot hybridization with an 18-bp-long oligonucleotide complementary to a sequence conserved within the arms of the four palindromic repeats of Sehr6. Sehr1-Sehr6 were dispersed on the SeMNPV genome at m.u. 8.0, 30.0, 38.5, 51.0, 77.0 and 88.0, respectively. Sequence analysis of these hrs confirmed the presence of palindromic repeats, highly similar to those found in pSeEcoRI-2.2. The number of palindromes varied from one (Sehr4) to nine (Sehr1) per hr. The Sehrs are all present in non-coding regions of the SeMNPV genome and also contain multiple putative transcription recognition sequences. Plasmids containing either of the Sehrs replicated in an SeMNPV- dependent DNA replication assay. The Sehrs were unable to replicate in an AcMNPV-dependent DNA replication assay. This was in contrast to the previously observed SeMNPV non-hr type ori, which replicated in the presence of both AcMNPV and SeMNPV. These data suggest that the replication of SeMNPV and the role of hrs in this process is highly specific.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. Hilton and D. Winstanley Genomic sequence and biological characterization of a nucleopolyhedrovirus isolated from the summer fruit tortrix, Adoxophyes orana J. Gen. Virol., November 1, 2008; 89(11): 2898 - 2908. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. L. C. Wolff, F. H. Valicente, R. Martins, J. V. d. C. Oliveira, and P. M. d. A. Zanotto Analysis of the genome of Spodoptera frugiperda nucleopolyhedrovirus (SfMNPV-19) and of the high genomic heterogeneity in group II nucleopolyhedroviruses J. Gen. Virol., May 1, 2008; 89(5): 1202 - 1211. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Westenberg and J. M. Vlak GP64 of group I nucleopolyhedroviruses cannot readily rescue infectivity of group II f-null nucleopolyhedroviruses J. Gen. Virol., February 1, 2008; 89(2): 424 - 431. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Hilton and D. Winstanley Identification and functional analysis of the origins of DNA replication in the Cydia pomonella granulovirus genome J. Gen. Virol., May 1, 2007; 88(5): 1496 - 1504. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. A. Jehle The expansion of a hypervariable, non-hr ori-like region in the genome of Cryptophlebia leucotreta granulovirus provides in vivo evidence for the utilization of baculovirus non-hr oris during replication J. Gen. Virol., August 1, 2002; 83(8): 2025 - 2034. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				W. F. J. IJkel, E. A. van Strien, J. G. M. Heldens, R. Broer, D. Zuidema, R. W. Goldbach, and J. M. Vlak Sequence and organization of the Spodoptera exigua multicapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus genome J. Gen. Virol., December 1, 1999; 80(12): 3289 - 3304. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				J. Huang and D. B. Levin Identification and functional analysis of a putative non-hr origin of DNA replication from the Spodoptera littoralis type B multinucleocapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus J. Gen. Virol., August 1, 1999; 80(8): 2263 - 2274. [Abstract] [Full Text]