Black beetle virus: propagation in Drosophila line 1 cells and an infection-resistant subline carrying endogenous black beetle virus-related particles.

Black beetle virus (BBV), one of a recently discovered class of viruses with a bipartite genome, multiplied readily in Schneider's line 1 of Drosophila cells. Virus yields, on the order of 100 mg per liter of culture, were unusually high and represented some 20% of the total cell protein within 3 days after infection. A derivative subline of these Drosophila cells was found to be resistant to infection by BBV. These resistant cells were also found to carry small amounts of BBV-related particles, possibly a maturation-defective form of BBV.