Ds. Bischoff et Jm. Slavicek, IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF AN EARLY GENE IN THE LYMANTRIA-DISPAR MULTINUCLEOCAPSID NUCLEAR POLYHEDROSIS-VIRUS, Journal of General Virology, 76, 1995, pp. 2933-2940
The Lymantria dispar multinucleocapsid nuclear polyhedrosis virus (LdM
NPV) gene encoding G22 was cloned and sequenced. The G22 gene codes fo
r a 191 amino acid protein with a predicted M(r) of 22000. Expression
of G22 in a rabbit reticulocyte system generated a protein with an M(r
) of 24000, in close agreement with the molecular mass predicted from
the nucleotide sequence. G22 is not significantly homologous to any kn
own protein, nor is a G22 homologue present in the Autographa californ
ica MNPV (AcMNPV). Temporal expression studies indicated that the G22
gene was transcribed at readily detectable levels in the presence of c
ycloheximide. Transcripts were detected immediately after the virus ad
sorption period and throughout the infection cycle. The early transcri
ptional start sites of G22 map to a sequence that resembles a subset o
f RNA polymerase II promoters/start sites that are found upstream of D
rosophila melanogaster developmental and retrotransposon genes which l
ack TATA box motifs. Several consensus late baculovirus promoter/mRNA
start site sequences (ATAAG) were identified upstream of the G22 gene
start codon.