ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author describes many new transfer vectors of Bombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus (BmNPV) and the use of such vectors in expression experiments. He discusses the expression of foreign genes in vitro, i.e., in established cell lines. The author details expression of foreign genes in vivo, in silkworm larvae. Expression vector systems using Autographa californica NPV (AcNPV) and BmNPV have been established. These Baculovirus expression systems are considered as the most interesting vectors for high-level expression of foreign genes. The first insect cell line was established by T. D. C. Grace in 1962, and several hundred additional cell lines have been established to date. The transfer vector plasmids contain unique recognition sites for insertion of foreign genes. Recombinant virus in which the polyhedrin gene is replaced with a foreign gene is detected by the absence of production of inclusion bodies in infected nuclei using a light microscope.
