A Rapid and Simple Procedure for Direct Cloning of PCR Products into Baculoviruses

Recombinant baculovirus expression systems are among the most commonly used for expressing foreign genes in eukaryotic cells (1 ,2 ). This eukaryotic expression system became very popular for many reasons, including 1. potentially high-protein expression levels, 2. ease and speed of genetic engineering, 3. ability to accommodate large DNA inserts, 4. protein processing similar to higher eukaryotic cells (e.g., mammalian cells), and 5. ease of insect cell growth (3 -5 ). Owing to their popularity, there have been considerable advances in the development of recombinant baculovirus systems to extend their range of application to include medicinally important pharmaceuticals (6 ), vaccine development (7 ,8 ) and rapid-action biological insecticides (9 ). As an expression system, the baculoviruses have been improved and modified to facilitate easy laboratory manipulation and high-level protein expression (10 -12 ).