Fig. 2

Transmission electron micrographs of SpltNPV-C3 ODVs. Magnification is indicated at the bottom of the image. A: 60 000×, B: 25 000×. The images were created using electron micrographs, and the whole appearance of SpltNPV-C3 OBs is clearly shown. Most OBs consist of polyhedrin, which is important for protecting baculoviruses from harsh environments until the next host is found. Baculoviruses can be used as delivery vectors since their genome can contain a long exogenous gene, and viruses produced from larvae can survive against complement attack [14], whereas those packaged by cells cannot survive [15]. There is an obvious difference between these two production methods; viruses in larvae experience the whole cycle of baculovirus infection and produce OBs when they exit the larval body