Transformation of gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) cell lines by infection with Glyptapanteles indiensis polydnavirus

Glyptapanteles indiensis, a species of braconid parasitic wasp, infects its host Lymantria dispar (gypsy moth) with a polydnavirus (GiPDV) to suppress the host immune system during parasitization. Here it is shown that GiPDV can infect L. dispar cell lines and that a portion of the GiPDV genome is stably maintained in infected cells. Results of Southern hybridization analyses suggested that this portion of the GiPDV genome is integrated into the L. dispar cellular genome. This is the first report of an insect viral DNA molecule that can apparently integrate into lepidopteran insect cells.