Nosema bombycis (Microsporidia) suppresses apoptosis in BmN cells (Bombyx mori).

Nosema bombycis (N. bombycis, Nb) is a fungus-related and obligate intracellular parasite that causes chronic pebrine disease in the silkworm. After infecting the host, spores obtain energy from host cells and survive for several days.

Detection of an internal translation activity in the 5' region of Bombyx mori infectious flacherie virus.

The 5' untranslated region plays an important role in positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus translation initiation, as it contains an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) that mediates cap-independent translation and is applied to simultaneously express several proteins. Infectious flacherie virus (IFV) is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus; however, the IRES function is still not proved. To investigate whether the sequences of IFV contain IRES activity, a series of bicistronic reporter (DsRed and enhanced green fluorescent protein) recombinant baculoviruses were constructed to infect the insect cells and silkworm using the Bombyx mori baculovirus expression system.