Isolation of Endogenous Viruses from Wild Drosophila Using Engineered Permissive Cell Lines
JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments
Microbiology
0 views • 1:32 min • October 29th, 2026
Begin with a tube containing anesthetized adult Drosophila of the same sex and species.
Add a buffer and homogenize it to release endogenous viral populations and bacteria.
Centrifuge the homogenate, then pass the supernatant through a membrane by centrifugation to remove bacteria and debris.
Transfer the filtrate to a multi-well plate containing engineered Drosophila cell cultures that are permissive to RNA viruses and incubate.
The viruses enter the host cell via receptor-mediated endocytosis.
Once inside, the viral genome replicates, producing double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) intermediates.
The host cells express a suppressor protein that binds to the dsRNA, preventing its degradation by Dicer, the host defense enzyme.
This allows viral RNA synthesis and viral protein production, promoting viral replication and amplification.
High viral loads impair host cell growth and produce cytopathic effects.
Briefly centrifuge the plate.
Collect the supernatant containing viral populations and store it at a low temperature for downstream analysis.
View the full transcript and gain access to thousands of scientific videos