In vitro host range of the Hz-1 nonoccluded virus in insect cell lines.

A total of 13 insect cell lines spanning 4 orders (Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, and Homoptera) were tested for their ability to replicate the nonoccluded virus Hz-1. Only the Lepidopteran cell lines supported replication of the virus with TN-CL1 and BCIRL-HZ-AM1 producing the highest titers of 2.4 x 10(8) tissue culture infective dose (TCID)50/ml and 2.0 x 10(8) TCID50/ml, respectively. A codling moth cell line (CP-169) was the only Lepidopteran cell line that did not replicate the virus and transfection of this cell line with Hz-1 DNA failed to replicate the virus. Also, transfection with DNA from a recombinant baculovirus carrying the red fluorescent protein gene (AcMNPVhsp70 Red) was not expressed in CP-169 cells. The replication cycle of Hz-1 in BCIRL-HZ-AM1 cells showed that this virus replicated rapidly starting at 16 h postinoculation (p.i.) and reaching a peak titer of 1.0 x 10(8) TCID50/ml 56 h postinoculation. Hz-1 when compared with several other baculoviruses has the widest in vitro host spectrum.