Ac34 and its homologs are highly conserved in all sequenced alphabaculoviruses. In this paper, we show that
ac34
transcripts were detected from 6 to 48 h postinfection (p.i.) in
Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus
(AcMNPV)-infected Sf9 cells. Ac34 localized to both the cytoplasm and the nuclei of infected cells but was not a viral structural protein. To determine the function of
ac34
in the viral life cycle, an
ac34
knockout AcMNPV (vAc34KO) was constructed. Compared with wild-type and repair viruses, vAc34KO exhibited an approximately 100-fold reduction in infectious virus production. Further investigations showed that the
ac34
deletion did not affect the replication of viral DNA, polyhedron formation, or nucleocapsid assembly but delayed the expression of late genes, such as
vp39
,
38k
, and
p6.9
. Bioassays revealed that vAc34KO was unable to establish a fatal infection in
Trichoplusia ni
larvae via
per os
inoculation. Few infectious progeny viruses were detected in the hemolymph of the infected larvae, indicating that the replication of vAc34KO was attenuated. These results suggest that Ac34 is an activator protein that promotes late gene expression and is essential for the pathogenicity of AcMNPV.