Figure 5.

Suppressing apoptosis in A. aegypti leads to expressions of viral genes. (a) Suppressing apoptosis allowed the expression of ie viral genes. None of the three ie CuniNPV genes, cun16, cun86, and cun103, could be detectable by Q-PCR in A. aegypti larvae exposed to CuniNPV and treated with DMSO only. In contrast, all the three genes could be detected in A. aegypti larvae treated with capsase inhibitors z-VAD-FMK (z-VAD). Bottom panels are gel pictures of the Q-PCR products. (b) FISH was performed with a pool of cRNA probes against CuniNPV genes, cun16, cun86, and cun103. Top panel, no viral gene could be detected in the midgut of any of the DMSO-treated larvae (over 100 examined) at 24 h after CuniNPV infection. In contrast, viral gene expression was detectable in ∼20% of the midguts dissected from caspase inhibitor-treated larvae