In Vivo Induction of Apoptosis Correlating with Reduced Infectivity during Baculovirus Infection

Spodoptera frugiperda caterpillars were infected with a mutant of Autographa californica M nucleopolyhedrovirus lacking the antiapoptotic p35 gene. Viral infectivity, replication, and spread were substantially reduced compared to that of a control revertant virus. Terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling confirmed that apoptosis occurred in mutant-infected caterpillars, thus directly correlating reduced infectivity and in vivo induction of apoptosis.