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Genomic Approaches to Analyses of Immune-suppressive Genes of the Campoletis sonorensis Polydnavirus
B.A. Webb
Department of Entomology
Non-Technical Summary
Control of insect pests requires novel approaches on an ongoing basis because insects have demonstrated the ability to evolve resistance to many insect control practices. This project seeks to develop novel approaches to insect control that take advantage of new means to suppress the insect immune system.
2009 Project Description
The 2009 outputs of this project are as follows: Assembly of an Heliothis virescens transcriptome and microarray. The transcriptomic data is available in electronic databases and includes sequences from a number of investigators. Dr. Kent Shelby and Tyas Nusuwardani a University of Kentucky graduate students were the major contributors to this accomplishment. The transcriptome and microarray data have been used to study immune gene function in polydnavirus-infected insects.
2009 Impact
2009 we reported that the Campoletis sonorensis polydnavirus gene, P-vank-1, inhibits apoptosis in lepidopteran cells. These data explain the phenomenon of increased survivorship of virus-infected cells that express one of the viral ankyrin genes. The practical impact of this finding is that the p-vank-1 gene can be used to prolong the survivorship of virus-infected cells and increase expression of recombinant protein baculovirus-infected cells. The scientific impact of this finding is that it helps to elucidate one of the mechanisms through which polydnavirus-infections of parasitized insects prolongs their survival and thereby enables the survival of the parasitized insect for sufficient time for the parasitoid to eclose.
2009 Publications
Fath-Goodin A., Kroemer J.K. and Webb B.A. (2009) The Campoletis sonorensis ichnovirus vankyrin protein P-vank-1 inhibits apoptosis in insect Sf9 cells Insect Mol. Biol.18:497-506.
Webb B.A. Wilkins T., and Nusuwardani T. (2009). The natural genetic engineering of polydnaviruses. Proceedings of the New York Acad of Sciences 1178:146-156.