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Subfamily Entomopoxvirinae

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Book cover Poxviruses

Part of the book series: Birkhäuser Advances in Infectious Diseases ((BAID))

Abstract

The subfamily Entomopoxvirinae is a related but distinct member of the family Poxviridae. These viruses share many biological features of the poxviruses of chordates, but instead infect the larvae of a number of insect families. The three genera that comprise the entomopoxviruses are the genus Alphaentomopoxvirus, infecting beetles; genus Betaentomopoxvirus, infecting butterflies, moths, grasshoppers, and locusts, and the genus Gammaentomopoxvirus infecting flies and mosquitoes. The entomopoxviruses, like their vertebrate counterparts, have a double-stranded linear DNA genome that is transcribed in a temporal fashion. Entomopoxviruses are occluded in a paracrystalline protein matrix, forming spheroids that protect the virus from environmental conditions. A number of genes are conserved between the entomopoxviruses and chordopoxviruses defining a minimal complement of poxvirus genes. The entomopoxviruses have some unique molecular features. This review covers pathogenesis, transcription, and molecular analysis of the entomopoxviruses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA

    Marie N. Becker & Richard W. Moyer

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  1. Marie N. Becker
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, University of Otago, 56, 700 Cumberland Street, Dunedin, New Zealand

    Andrew A. Mercer

  2. Faculty of Medicine, University Witten/Herdecke, Alfred-Herrhausen-Str. 50, 58448, Witten, Germany

    Axel Schmidt

  3. BAYER HEALTHCARE AG, Product-related Research, 42096, Wuppertal, Germany

    Olaf Weber

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Becker, M.N., Moyer, R.W. (2007). Subfamily Entomopoxvirinae . In: Mercer, A.A., Schmidt, A., Weber, O. (eds) Poxviruses. Birkhäuser Advances in Infectious Diseases. Birkhäuser Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7643-7557-7_12

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