IDENTIFICATION AND NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE OF AN ECDYSTEROID UDP-GLUCOSYLTRANSFERASE GENE OF SPODOPTERA LITTORALIS MULTICAPSID NUCLEAR POLYHEDROSIS VIRUS

TheSpodoptera littoralis multicapsid nuclear polyhedrosis virus (SlMNPV) is a member of the Baculoviridae that shows a distant genetic relationship to the prototypeAutographa californica MNPV (AcMNPV). Using anAcMNPV gene-specific probe, we identified and mapped an ecdysteroid UDP-glucosyltransferase (egt) gene in the genome ofSlMNPV. Sequence determination of a part from the hybridizing DNA fragment revealed an open reading frame of 1548 nucleotides that exhibits 38% and 44% identity to theegt amino acid sequences ofAcMNPV andLymantria dispar MNPV (LdMNPV), respectively. Sequences flanking theSlMNPVegt gene, including the promoter region, were found to be unique to the virus. The presence of this nonstructural gene inSlMNPV and several other baculoviruses points to the importance ofegt for the viral infection process.