Dynamic interactions between Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus and its host cells revealed by transcriptome analysis

Area of Science:

• * Molecular biology
• * Virology
• * Bioinformatics

Background:

• * Previous studies on baculovirus infection relied on microarray and expressed sequence tag (EST) methods.
• * The host gene response and virus-host interactions during baculovirus infection remain poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To investigate the host response to Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) infection.
• * To elucidate the dynamic interactions between BmNPV and its host at the molecular level.
• * To identify host pathways and viral proteins involved in regulating viral infection.

Main Methods:

• * Digital gene expression profiling of Bm5 cells at multiple time points post-infection.
• * Gene set enrichment analysis to identify altered cellular pathways.
• * Construction of virus-host protein-protein interaction networks.
• * In vitro and in vivo validation of identified pathways using inhibitors.

Main Results:

• * BmNPV infection significantly altered host gene sets related to cytoskeleton, transcription, translation, energy metabolism, iron ion metabolism, and the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway.
• * Viral proteins were found to interact with crucial cellular machineries like the proteasome, cytoskeleton, and spliceosome.
• * Viral proteins IE2, CG30, PE38, and PK-1/2 were predicted to be key mediators of virus-host interactions.
• * The ubiquitin-proteasome pathway and iron ion metabolism were confirmed to regulate the viral infection cycle.

Conclusions:

• * Baculovirus infection profoundly impacts host cell molecular machinery.
• * Specific viral proteins play critical roles in manipulating host processes.
• * Targeting the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway and iron metabolism offers potential strategies for controlling baculovirus infection.
• * Findings provide insights for improving baculovirus expression systems.