• BMB Reports
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.65-71
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• 2007

The Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus (HearNPV) ORF80 (ha80) has 765 bp encoding a protein with approximately 254 amino acids and a predicted molecular weight of 30.8 kDa. Homologues of ha80 are found in most baculovirus sequences, including those from lepidopteran NPVs, lepidopteran granuloviruses (GVs), hymenopteran baculoviruses, and one dipteran baculovirus, yet their functions remain unclear. In this study we characterized ha80, and showed that it was transcribed late in infected host cells (HzAM1). The product of ha80 was a 31 kDa protein that was not a structural protein of budded virus (BV) or occlusion-derived virus (ODV) particles. Ha80 was first detected in the cytoplasm of infected HzAM1 cells at 12 h p.i., and was observed in the nucleus at later stages of infection, suggesting that it may be involved in transporting viral proteins into the host cell nucleus or play its roles in the nucleus.

• BMB Reports
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.263-269
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• 2006

In the genome of Helicoverpa armigera single-nucleocapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus, open reading frame 39 (Ha39) is the only gene predicted to encode an RNA recognition protein. Computer analysis revealed that Ha39 homologues were found in 15 NPVs, but not in GVs. Its transcripts were detected from 3 through 72 hours post infection (h p.i.) using RT-PCR and Northern blot analysis. The protein was detected in infected-cell lysates from 6 h p.i. Western blot assay of ODV and BV preparations revealed that Ha39 encodes a structural protein associated with BVs. Additionally, immunofluorescence microscopy demonstrated that the protein was present within cytoplasm in virus-infected cells, but not in the nuclear region.