Direct interaction of baculovirus capsid proteins VP39 and EXON0 with kinesin-1 in insect cells determined by fluorescence resonance energy transfer-fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy

Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) replicates in the nucleus of insect cells to produce nucleocapsids, which are transported from the nucleus to the plasma membrane for budding through GP64-enriched areas to form budded viruses. However, little is known about the anterograde trafficking of baculovirus nucleocapsids in insect cells. Preliminary confocal scanning laser microscopy studies showed that enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP)-tagged nucleocapsids and capsid proteins aligned and colocalized with the peripheral microtubules of virus-infected insect cells. A colchicine inhibition assay of virus-infected insect cells showed a significant reduction in budded virus production, providing further evidence for the involvement of microtubules and suggesting a possible role of kinesin in baculovirus anterograde trafficking. We investigated the interaction between AcMNPV nucleocapsids and kinesin-1 with fluorescence resonance energy transfer-fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FRET-FLIM) and show for the first time that AcMNPV capsid proteins VP39 and EXON0, but not Orf1629, interact with the tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) domain of kinesin. The excited-state fluorescence lifetime of EGFP fused to VP39 or EXON0 was quenched from 2.4 ± 1 ns to 2.1 ± 1 ns by monomeric fluorescent protein (mDsRed) fused to TPR (mDsRed-TPR). However, the excited-state fluorescence lifetime of an EGFP fusion of Orf1629 remained unquenched by mDsRed-TPR. These data indicate that kinesin-1 plays an important role in the anterograde trafficking of baculovirus in insect cells.