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Toxoneuron nigriceps polydnavirus encodes a putative aspartyl protease highly expressed in parasitized host larvae
Author(s) -
Falabella Patrizia,
Varricchio Paola,
Gigliotti Silvia,
Tranfaglia Antonio,
Pennacchio Francesco,
Malva Carla
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
insect molecular biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.955
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1365-2583
pISSN - 0962-1075
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2583.2003.00382.x
Subject(s) - biology , heliothis virescens , braconidae , parasitoid , prothoracic gland , noctuidae , lepidoptera genitalia , parasitoid wasp , gene , host (biology) , botany , genetics , ecdysone
Abstract Toxoneuron nigriceps (Viereck) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is an endophagous parasitoid of larval stages of the tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens (F.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). This parasitoid is associated with a polydnavirus (TnBV), injected at oviposition along with the egg, and involved in the disruption of host immune reaction and endocrine balance. This paper reports the molecular characterization of TnBV2, one of the most abundant genes in the TnBV genome. TnBV2 expression produces a mature 0.6 kb transcript in fat body, prothoracic glands and haemocytes, as early as 6 h after parasitoid oviposition. Only in haemocytes a specific longer transcript of 2.5 kb is found 24 h after parasitization. The putative translation product of TnBV2 contains a retroviral type aspartyl protease domain. The possible origin and functional role of this TnBV gene are discussed.