The structural and functional organization of the Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus genome.

Baculoviruses are used as biological control agents of insect pests in agriculture and forestry. The multiple-nucleocapsid nuclear polyhedrosis virus of Autographa californica (AcMNPV) is the prototype baculovirus. Recently, this virus has become widely used as vector for the high-level expression of foreign genes in insect cells. An updated physical map of restriction sites as well as the location of open reading frames (ORFs) and transcripts are presented. Most characteristic is the dispersal of "early", "late", and "very late" genes over the genome and the presence of nested sets of 3' and 5' coterminal transcripts.