Vol. 36 No. 1, 1997

Molecular Cloning and Nucleotide Sequences of the Perina nuda Nucleopolyhedrovirus (PenuNPV) p10 Gene

Chih-Ming Chou¹, Chang-Jen Huang², Chu-Fang Lo¹, Guang-Hsiung  Kou¹ and  Chung-Hsiung Wang^3,*

¹Dept. of Zoology, National Taiwan Univ., Taipei, Taiwan 106
²lnst. of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan 115
³Dept. of Plant Pathology and Entomology, National Taiwan Univ., Taipei, Taiwan 106

Chih-Ming Chou, Chang-Jen Huang, Chu-Fang Lo, Guang-Hsiung  Kou and  Chung-Hsiung Wang (1997) The Perina nuda nucleopolyhedrovirus (PenuNPV) p10 gene was located in a Pst I 4.5 kilo-base pair (kb) fragment of the viral genome. A portion of 696 nucleotides (nt) containing this gene was sequenced. An open reading frame (ORF) of  276 nt encoded the p10 protein of 92  amino acid residues. The conserved TAAG motif, which is associated with transcription of most baculovirus late genes, was identified 53 nt upstream of the translational start codon of the PenuNPV p10 gene. Northern blot analysis using a DIG-labeled PenuNPV p10 gene probe detected 2 major transcripts, 0.62 kb and 3.08 kb  mRNA in PenuNPV-infected cells at 96 to 120 h postinfection. The PenuNPV p10 gene was expressed as a 0.62 kb transcript. The PenuNPV p10 protein  showed 38%, 44%, 44%, 22%, and 96%  amino acid identity, respectively, with the  p10 proteins of Autographa californica MNPV (AcMNPV), Bombyx mori NPV (BmNPV), Choristoneura fumiferana MNPV (CfMNPV), Spodoptera exigua MNPV (SeMNPV), and Orgyia pseudotsugata MNPV (OpMNPV).  This implies that PenuNPV p10 protein is most closely related to OpMNPV p10 protein.

Key words: p10 Gene, Perina nuda nucleopolyhedrovirus, Baculovirus.

*Correspondence: Tel: 886-2-3630231-2503. Fax: 886-2-7364329, E-mail: wangch@cc.ntu.edu.tw