A Comprehensive Study of MicroRNA in Baculoviruses.

Baculoviruses are viral pathogens that infect different species of Lepidoptera, Diptera, and Hymenoptera, with a global distribution. Due to their biological characteristics and the biotechnological applications derived from these entities, the Baculoviridae family is an important subject of study and manipulation in the natural sciences. With the advent of RNA interference mechanisms, the presence of baculoviral genes that do not code for proteins but instead generate transcripts similar to microRNAs (miRNAs) has been described. These miRNAs are functionally associated with the regulation of gene expression, both in viral and host sequences. This article provides a comprehensive review of miRNA biogenesis, function, and characterization in general, with a specific focus on those identified in baculoviruses. Furthermore, it delves into the specific roles of baculoviral miRNAs in regulating viral and host genes and presents structural and thermodynamic stability studies that are useful for detecting shared characteristics with predictive utility. This review aims to expand our understanding of the baculoviral miRNAome, contributing to improvements in the production of baculovirus-based biopesticides, management of resistance phenomena in pests, enhancement of recombinant protein production systems, and development of diverse and improved BacMam vectors to meet biomedical demands.

Protein-Gene Orthology in Baculoviridae: An Exhaustive Analysis to Redefine the Ancestrally Common Coding Sequences.

Baculoviruses are entomopathogens that carry large, double-stranded circular DNA genomes and infect insect larvae of Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera and Diptera, with applications in the biological control of agricultural pests, in the production of recombinant proteins and as viral vectors for various purposes in mammals. These viruses have a variable genetic composition that differs between species, with some sequences shared by all known members, and others that are lineage-specific or unique to isolates. Based on the analysis of nearly 300 sequenced genomes, a thorough bioinformatic investigation was conducted on all the baculoviral protein coding sequences, characterizing their orthology and phylogeny. This analysis confirmed the 38 protein coding sequences currently considered as core genes, while also identifying novel coding sequences as candidates to join this set. Accordingly, homology was found among all the major occlusion body proteins, thus proposing that the polyhedrin, granulin and CUN085 genes be considered as the 39th core gene of Baculoviridae.