Sequence, function, and phylogenetic analysis of an ascovirus DNA polymerase gene

We have sequenced a 5.5-kb region of the DNA genome of the Spodoptera Ascovirus (SAV) containing a DNA polymerase gene. The gene codes for a 1104-amino-acid polypeptide with seven motifs characteristic of DNA polymerases and three additional motifs associated with polymerases possessing 3' to 5' exonuclease activity. The SAV DNA polymerase gene was able to functionally substitute for a baculovirus DNA polymerase gene in a transient assay that relies on origin-specific reporter plasmid DNA replication. Analysis of the predicted DNA polymerase sequence using neighbor-joining and protein parsimony algorithms indicated that this gene was only distantly related to other known viral and cellular DNA polymerases. The SAV DNA polymerase gene is the first ascovirus gene to be identified and sequenced. The molecular phylogenetic analyses of this gene supports the placement of insect ascoviruses in a separate virus family.