Sequence Analysis of the Bam HI-J Fragment of the Spodoptera litura Multicapsid Nucleopolyhedrovirus.

The BamHI-J fragment located at 25.8--9.9 map units of the Spodoptera litura multicapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (SpltMNPV) genome was sequenced. The fragment contained four ORFs, one partial ORF potentially encoding C-terminal of chitinase gene and one partial homologous region (hr). The four ORFs included lef-8 gene, J domain protein gene (bjdp gene), ORF570 and ORF165. The ORF570 revealed 31% identity to the helicase-2 of Lymantria dispar MNPV. The ORF165 was unique to the SpltMNPV. The bjdp gene, reported here for the first time in baculoviruses, was one of J domain family protein genes, and the predicated amino acid sequence possessed a characteristic of J domain protein of other DnaJ proteins at its N-terminus. The lef-8 showed high identities to the homologs of reported baculovirus genomes. As a component of virus-encoded RNA polymerase, the LEF-8 of SpltMNPV had the conserved motif GIKICGIHGQKG near the C-terminal end. Analysis of the LEF-8 phylogenic tree demonstrated SpltMNPV was very closely related to SpliMNPV.