Ascoviridae
Ascoviridae is a family of double strand DNA viruses that infect primarily invertebrates, mainly noctuids and spodoptera species; it contains two genera, Ascovirus, which contains three species, and Toursvirus with a single species Diadromus pulchellus toursvirus. The type species of Ascovirus is Spodoptera frugiperda ascovirus 1a, which infects the army worm.
Genome
The genome is not segmented and contains a single molecule of circular double-stranded DNA. The genome has a guanine + cytosine content of 42-60%.The genome of Spodoptera frugiperda ascovirus 1a has been sequenced. It is 156,922 bases in length and encodes 123 putative open reading frames. The G+C ratio is 49.2%. Among the encoded proteins are a caspase, a cathepsin B, several kinases, E3 ubiquitin ligases, a fatty acid elongase, a sphingomyelinase, a phosphate acyltransferase and a patatin-like phospholipase.
Virology
The virions consist of an envelope, a core, and an internal lipid membrane associated with the inner particle. The virus capsid is enveloped and measures 130 nm in diameter, and 200-240 nm in length. Virions are bacilliform, ovoid, and allantoid.| Genus | Structure | Symmetry | Capsid | Genomic arrangement | Genomic segmentation |
| Ascovirus | Bacilliform, ovoidal or allantoid | Enveloped | Circular | Monopartite |
These viruses infect immature stages of the order Lepidoptera, in which they cause a chronic, fatal disease. They are transmissed by endoparasitic wasps and the host develops a unique cytopathology that resembles apoptosis. Cell infection induces apoptosis and in some species is associated with synthesis of a virus-encoded executioner caspase and several lipid-metabolizing enzymes. After infection the host cell DNA is degraded, the nucleus fragments and the cell then cleaves into large virion-containing vesicles. Synthesis of viral proteins results in the rescue of developing apoptotic bodies that are converted into large vesicles in which virions accumulate and continue to assemble. In infected larvae, millions of these virion-containing vesicles begin to disperse from infected tissues 48–72 hours after infection into the haemolymph, making it milky white, a characteristic of this disease. The circulation of virions and vesicles in the blood facilitates mechanical transmission by parasitic wasps.
| Genus | Host details | Tissue tropism | Entry details | Release details | Replication site | Assembly site | Transmission |
| Ascovirus | Insects: Noctuids | Most | Cell receptor endocytosis | Cleavage | Nucleus | Cytoplasm | Mechanical |