Prior Bombyx mori latent virus exposure enhances subsequent BmNPV infection and suppresses antiviral responses in the silkworm, Bombyx mori
- 1Kyushu University
Abstract
Bombyx mori latent virus (BmLV) is a persistent RNA virus frequently detected in silkworm-derived cell lines and has been reported to interact with B. mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV). However, whether previous BmLV exposure alters subsequent BmNPV infection in silkworm larvae remains unclear. Here, we examined how BmLV exposure history affects subsequent BmNPV infection in cultured cells and fifth-instar B. mori larvae. Persistent BmLV infection increased BmNPV-mediated reporter protein expression and BmNPV genome abundance in cultured cells, whereas short-term BmLV exposures, including simultaneous exposure to BmLV and BmNPV, did not reproduce these effects. In contrast, 24 h BmLV pre-exposure before BmNPV challenge increased BmNPV-mediated reporter protein expression and BmNPV genome abundance in f38 and n22 silkworm larvae. BmLV antigenome RNA was detected in multiple larval tissues after BmLV exposure, indicating BmLV replication during the pre-exposure period. Notably, following subsequent BmNPV infection, BmLV-pre-exposed larvae showed reduced induction of Dicer-2, R2D2, and stimulator of interferon genes (STING) in the fat body. These findings indicate that prior BmLV exposure enhances subsequent BmNPV infection and is associated with attenuated induction of host antiviral genes. This study expands our understanding of how sequential viral infections shape host-virus interactions and suggests that BmLV exposure history may influence baculovirus-based recombinant protein expression.
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BibTeX
@misc{abubakar2026prior,
title = {{Prior Bombyx mori latent virus exposure enhances subsequent BmNPV infection and suppresses antiviral responses in the silkworm, Bombyx mori}},
author = {N. Abubakar and H. Mon and T. Fujii and T. Fujimoto and T. Kusakabe and M. Hino},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.14.758696},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.14.758696v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Prior Bombyx mori latent virus exposure enhances subsequent BmNPV infection and suppresses antiviral responses in the silkworm, Bombyx mori
AU - N. Abubakar
AU - H. Mon
AU - T. Fujii
AU - T. Fujimoto
AU - T. Kusakabe
AU - M. Hino
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/14
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.14.758696
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.14.758696v1
AB - Bombyx mori latent virus (BmLV) is a persistent RNA virus frequently detected in silkworm-derived cell lines and has been reported to interact with B. mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV). However, whether previous BmLV exposure alters subsequent BmNPV infection in silkworm larvae remains unclear. Here, we examined how BmLV exposure history affects subsequent BmNPV infection in cultured cells and fifth-instar B. mori larvae. Persistent BmLV infection increased BmNPV-mediated reporter protein expression and BmNPV genome abundance in cultured cells, whereas short-term BmLV exposures, including simultaneous exposure to BmLV and BmNPV, did not reproduce these effects. In contrast, 24 h BmLV pre-exposure before BmNPV challenge increased BmNPV-mediated reporter protein expression and BmNPV genome abundance in f38 and n22 silkworm larvae. BmLV antigenome RNA was detected in multiple larval tissues after BmLV exposure, indicating BmLV replication during the pre-exposure period. Notably, following subsequent BmNPV infection, BmLV-pre-exposed larvae showed reduced induction of Dicer-2, R2D2, and stimulator of interferon genes (STING) in the fat body. These findings indicate that prior BmLV exposure enhances subsequent BmNPV infection and is associated with attenuated induction of host antiviral genes. This study expands our understanding of how sequential viral infections shape host-virus interactions and suggests that BmLV exposure history may influence baculovirus-based recombinant protein expression.
ER -