ARS | Publication request: The Lymantria dispar IPLB-Ld652Y cell line transcriptome comprises diverse virus-associated transcripts.

Submitted to: Viruses
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: November 14, 2011
Publication Date: November 21, 2011
Citation: Sparks, M., Gundersen, D.E. 2011. The Lymantria dispar IPLB-Ld652Y cell line transcriptome comprises diverse virus-associated transcripts. Viruses. 3(11): 2339-2350.

Interpretive Summary: The gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) is a serious insect pest of hardwood and shade trees in the Northeast United States, costing millions of dollars annually in damage and control costs. Almost no genetic information exists for gypsy moth even though this information would help scientists devise new biological control strategies. Insect cell cultures are tools in basic biology that can lead to new approaches for control of agricultural pests like the gypsy moth. In this study, we used a gypsy moth cell culture to analyze the total genetic components (called the “transcriptome”) produced by the cells. We generated much new genetic information for gypsy moth that will be publicly accessible. We found numerous virus genetic components associated with the gypsy moth cells as well as several candidate genetic components of interest for developing biological control methods. This information will be of interest to scientists and biopesticide companies interested in developing new or molecule-based strategies towards control of gypsy moth.

Technical Abstract: The enhanced viral susceptibility of the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar)-derived IPLB-Ld652Y cell line has made it a popular in vitro system for studying virus-related phenomena in the Lepidoptera. Using both single-pass EST sequencing and 454-based pyrosequencing, a transcriptomic library of 14,368 putatively unique transcripts (PUTs) was produced comprising 8,476,050 high-quality, informative bases. Gene content of the IPLB-Ld652Y transcriptome was broadly assessed via comparison with the NCBI non-redundant protein database, and more detailed functional annotation was inferred, where possible, by comparison to the Swiss-Prot subset of UniProtKB. A diverse array of virus-associated transcripts was identified in the dataset, suggestive of a high level of viral expression and activity in Ld652Y cells. These sequence resources will provide a sound basis for developing testable experimental hypotheses by insect virologists, and suggest a number of avenues for potential research.