African Swine Fever Virus MGF 360-2L Disrupts Host Antiviral Immunity Based on Transcriptomic Analysis

<b>Background/Objectives:</b> The African swine fever virus (ASFV) multi-gene family (MGF) 360 proteins play critical roles in immune evasion, replication regulation, and virulence determination. Despite substantial advances in this field, the functional roles of many members within this gene family remain to be fully characterized. <b>Methods:</b> In this study, Transcriptional kinetics analysis indicated that the expression profile of <i>MGF 360-2L</i> was consistent with that of the late marker gene <i>B646L</i> (p72). Transcriptomic profiling identified 13 and 171 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) at 12 and 24 h post-infection (hpi) with Δ<i>MGF 360-2L</i>, respectively. <b>Results:</b> Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses indicated that these DEGs were predominantly enriched in Type I interferon (IFN-I) signaling pathways. It is noteworthy that transcriptome analysis further demonstrates that the absence of <i>MGF 360-2L</i> specifically results in the dysregulation of expression of the replication-essential genes <i>E199L</i> and <i>E301R</i>. These findings indicate that <i>MG F360-2L</i> is essential for maintaining the stable expression of these proteins. <b>Conclusions:</b><i>MGF 360-2L</i> is a late gene that contributes to the precise regulation of viral protein expression and modulates the host immune response during infection.