ABSTRACT
There is evidence that the different viral transcripts might be dependent on a complex temporal regulation of the expression program. The insect baculovirus Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcNPV) has become a well-studied model for investigations on the molecular biology of insect cells. The viral genome is a supercoiled, circular, double-stranded DNA molecule of 126 to 129 kilobase pairs. The EcoRI-N and -J fragments in DNA preparations correspond to map positions 79.3 to 86.4, or to the EcoRI-E and -H fragments in the conventional AcNPV map, respectively. By nucleotide sequence determination and S1 protection analyses, the 3' and 5' termini of the nine major size classes of AcNPV-specific RNAs have been precisely mapped relative to the EcoRI-J and -N fragments. In vitro translation experiments in reticulocyte lysates have often yielded reliable results and reflect, to some degree, the patterns of polypeptides synthesized in virus-infected cells.
