The insect tracheal system: a conduit for the systemic spread of Autographa californica M nuclear polyhedrosis virus.

Baculoviruses establish systemic infections within susceptible insect hosts, even though host tissues are surrounded by basal laminae, extracellular matrices that exclude particles smaller than these viruses. Using a recombinant Autographa californica M nuclear polyhedrosis virus containing a lacZ reporter gene under the control of a constitutive promoter, we followed the progression of infection in Trichoplusia ni larvae. We discovered that infection of the larval insect tracheal system (and not hemocytes, as thought previously) provides the major conduit for this virus to pass through basal laminae and to spread throughout the host. Tracheal epidermal cells, the only known cellular components of the tracheal system, share a common lymph system. Locally these cells contact one another by interdigitating cytoplasmic extensions called epidermal feet. These two features of the tracheal system are likely to facilitate the rapid systemic spread of the virus. The findings reported here have major implications for the fields of insect pathology and biological control and usher in an important consideration regarding host-range factors.