Summary auto-generated
Payne (1974) isolated and characterized a virus from larvae of the rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes rhinoceros), an agricultural pest of coconut in the Pacific. The virus is a rod-shaped, enveloped particle measuring approximately 220 × 120 nm with a buoyant density of 1.18 g/ml in sucrose. Electron microscopy revealed viral morphogenesis within nuclear membrane-bound vesicles in midgut epithelial cells. Biochemical analysis identified eleven protein components by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, with two major low-molecular-weight proteins (9.7 and 12.5 × 10³ Da). The viral nucleic acid is double-stranded DNA with a guanine-cytosine content of 43%, of which 9% exists as covalently-closed circular molecules. The major DNA component has a sedimentation coefficient of 57.2 S and molecular weight of 87 × 10⁶ Da. The virus shares structural and biochemical properties with baculoviruses, including morphology, DNA characteristics, and antigenic cross-reactivity. The authors propose including this virus within the Baculovirus taxonomic group rather than the previously suggested Rhabdiovirus classification.
Key findings
- Oryctes rhinoceros virus is a rod-shaped, enveloped DNA virus (220 × 120 nm) containing eleven protein components with predominant low-molecular-weight proteins
- The viral genome is double-stranded DNA (43% GC content, 87 × 10⁶ Da), with approximately 9% existing as covalently-closed circular molecules
- Electron microscopy showed viral morphogenesis in nuclear membrane-associated vesicles without occlusion in proteinaceous inclusions typical of other baculoviruses
- Biochemical and structural properties, including DNA characteristics and protein profiles, closely resemble baculoviruses and show antigenic cross-reactivity with baculovirus antisera
- The virus should be reclassified as a member of the Baculovirus group rather than Rhabdiovirus
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Abstract
A virus was isolated from larvae of the rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes rhinoceros), which resembled particles observed in thin sections of the midgut epithelium of diseased insects. The virus was rod-shaped, enveloped, and measured approx. 220 x 120 nm. Purified particles had a density in sucrose of 1.18 g/ml and contained eleven protein components as determined by electrophoresis in 10% polyacrylamide gels. The two major proteins were of low mol. wt. (9.7 and 12.5 x 103). The nucleic acid had a density in caesium chloride characteristic of double-stranded DNA, with an estimated guanosine:cytosine content of 43%. A small proportion (9%) of the DNA was present as covalently-closed molecules. The virus DNA contained molecules with different sedimentation velocities, the major component having a sedimentation coefficient of 57.2S and an estimated mol. wt. of 87 x 106. It is proposed that this virus be included in the Baculovirus group.