Establishment of a neonate cell line from Epiphyas postvittana (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) that supports replication of E. postvittana nucleopolyhedrovirus.

The lightbrown apple moth (Epiphyas postvittana) is a leafroller pest that damages horticultural crops in New Zealand. This paper documents the establishment of a primary cell line from neonate E. postvittana larvae to facilitate the development of E. postvittana nucleopolyhedrovirus (EppoNPV) for control of this pest. The cell line was cultured for 36 passages and a clonal derivative designated EpN1.10 was generated that had a doubling time of 36h at 21 degrees C. The EpN1.10 cell line allowed for recovery of EppoNPV from transfected genomic DNA and virus passage, as determined by occlusion body production and restriction endonuclease analysis.