DNA distribution and respiratory activity of Spodoptera frugiperda populations infected with wild-type and recombinant Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus.

Spodoptera frugiperda cells were infected with a wild-type Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus and with a recombinant Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus. The recombinant virus was derived from the wild-type virus and produced beta-galactosidase instead of polyhedrin. The changes in cell size, cell growth, viability, DNA distribution, and respiratory activity were followed through the time course of the infection. The DNA content as measured by flow cytometry of infected cells increased to approximately 1.8 times the value of uninfected cells and the distributions of single-cell DNA content of the infected cells were strongly deformed. Early in the infection the respiratory activity passed through a maximum. The mitochondrial activity based on Rhodamine 123 labelling of cells infected with the recombinant virus, as determined by flow cytometry, also passed through a maximum at 24 h post infection while the mitochondrial activity of cells infected with the wild-type virus continued to increase. Evolution of single-cell mitochondrial activity was different in uninfected populations and in populations infected with wild-type and with recombinant virus. In all experiments performed, the recombinant virus influenced cell behavior and the measured parameters earlier than the wild-type virus. The influence of the multiplicity of infection was stronger for the wild-type virus than for the recombinant virus.