Surface display of rice stripe virus NSvc2 and analysis of its membrane fusion activity.

Rice stripe virus (RSV) infects rice and is transmitted in a propagative manner by the small brown planthopper. How RSV enters an insect cell to initiate the infection cycle is poorly understood. Sequence analysis revealed that the RSV NSvc2 protein was similar to the membrane glycoproteins of several members in the family Bunyaviridae and might induce cell membrane fusion.