The p26 gene of the Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus: timing of transcription, and cellular localization and dimerization of product.

p26, an early AcMNPV gene, codes for a 240-amino acid polypeptide of unknown function. Primer extension analysis showed that the p26 transcripts, initiating at three clustered start sites, accumulated between 2 and 12 h post-infection, after which these transcripts declined in quantity. Indirect immunofluorescence studies detected the p26 protein primarily dispersed in the cytoplasm of infected cells, although some staining of the nucleus was also observed. Immunoblots of infected cell fractions also detected p26 primarily in the cytoplasm. A yeast two-hybrid assay detected p26 in association only with other p26 molecules. Biochemical analysis showed that p26 forms dimers under physiological conditions.