The process of baculovirus deproteinization.

The localization and function of alkaline protease inside the supervirion capsids (granules, inclusion bodies) of granulosis virus and nuclear polyhedrosis virus have been determined with the help of electron microscopy. It has been shown that deproteinization of baculoviruses proceeds in several steps. The first two stages (the release of virus from supervirion capsids and the release of nucleocapsids from the internal and external coats, were accomplished in the intestine of the insects, while the third stage (the release of nucleic molecules from the nucleocapsids) took place in the nucleoplasm of intestinal epithelial cells.