A GENE ENCODING A HIGHLY EXPRESSED SPINDLE BODY PROTEIN OF HELIOTHIS-ARMIGERA ENTOMOPOXVIRUS

The gene encoding the most abundant protein of purified preparations o f Heliothis armigera entomopoxvirus (HaEPV) has been cloned and sequen ced. The gene sequence encodes a 40.1K polypeptide with a putative N-t erminal 20 amino acid leader peptide, and a single potential N-glycosy lation site. Analysis of the protein, which has an apparent M(r) of 50 K on polyacrylamide gels, confirmed post-translational loss of the lea der peptide, but showed no evidence of glycosylation. The protein is r elated to others previously described from Choristoneura biennis EPV ( 63 % identity) and Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus ( 42 % identity). Polyclonal antiserum raised against a bacterial fusion protein containing the majority of the HaEPV protein specifically lab elled HaEPV spindle bodies; confocal laser scanning microscopy suggest s that the protein is distributed throughout those viral structures.