Transfection of Lymantria dispar insect cell lines.

Lepidopteran cell lines derived from the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, have not been widely used in protein expression studies or systems because they are weakly adherent, have specific growth requirements and characteristics, and are generally difficult to transfect. Using lipid-mediated transfection of a reporter plasmid, we modify the standard method for transfection of L. dispar-derived embryonic cell lines IPLB-LdEp and -LdEIta, obtaining transfection efficiencies of 34% and 30%, respectively, as determined by image analysis assays. Using the standard lipid-mediated method, we obtain transfection efficiencies for L. dispar-derived cell line IPLB-Ld652Y of at least 40% with high mean expression levels, indicating the IPLB-Ld652Y cell line may be a superior choice for expression studies or systems requiring L. dispar-derived cells.