ABSTRACT
The baculoviruses (from the Latin baculum, rod) constitute a vast group of viruses. They are present only in the Arthropods and have been described in more than 600 insect species as well as in some crustaceans. These are viruses packaged in the form of rods, about 350 nm long with an average diameter of 50 nm. They contain a genome made up of a double-stranded, circular, tightly rolled DNA molecule varying in size from 88 to 153 kbp.
