A PARVO-LIKE VIRUS PERSISTENTLY INFECTING A C6/36 CLONE OF AEDES/ALBOPICTUS MOSQUITO CELL-LINE AND PATHOGENIC FOR AEDES-AEGYPTI LARVAE

We have isolated and partially characterized from an apparently healthy C6/36 subclone of Aedes albopictus cell line a small icosahedral non-enveloped DNA virus, designated AaPV. This virus proved to be highly pathogenic for Aedes aegypti neonate larvae. Viral infection persisted for over 4 years in the cell culture without any cytopathic effect. Attempts to infect suckling mice, Drosophila melanogaster adults and Spodoptera littoralis larvae with AaPV were unsuccessful. Similarly, the AaPV failed to replicate in vertebrate and Drosophila cell lines. Virions, about 22 nm in diameter, had a buoyant density of 1.43 g/cm3 and contained three capsid polypeptides with molecular weights of 53, 41 and 40 kDa. A preliminary study of the viral genome indicated the presence of single-stranded DNA. By its biophysical and biochemical properties, this virus appears to be related to the genus Densovirus within the family Parvoviridae, but lacks serological relationships with the other members of this genus.