Evidence for integration of Glyptapanteles indiensis polydnavirus DNA into the chromosome of Lymantria dispar in vitro

Polydnaviruses replicate within calyx cells of the female ovaries of certain species of parasitic wasps and are required for the successful parasitization of lepidopteran hosts. These viruses, which have unusual double-stranded circular DNA segmented genomes, are integrated as proviruses into the genomes of their associated wasp hosts and are believed to be transmitted vertically through germline tissue. Here, by combined Southern hybridization, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays and viral sequence analyses we provide evidence that DNA originating from two distinct double-stranded circular segments of the polydnavirus genome from the braconid Glyptapanteles indiensis (GiPDV) integrates in vitro into the genome of cells derived from the natural host, Lymantria dispar. The G. indiensis polydnavirus DNA, as a result of its unique ability to be integrated in part into the chromosome of cells derived from its lepidopteran host, has potential to be developed as an in vitro cell transformation system.