Production of the Anticarsia gemmatalis multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus in serum-free suspension cultures of the saUFL-AG-286 cell line in stirred reactor and airlift reactor.

The velvetbean caterpillar, Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is one of the main plagues for soybean crops. Velvetbean caterpillar larvae are susceptible to be infected by occlusion bodies of the baculovirus Anticarsia gemmatalis multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AgMNPV), a biological insecticide. The insect cell line saUFL-AG-286 produces very high yields of occlusion bodies of AgMNPV in suspension cultures done in the low-cost serum-free medium UNL-10 in shake-flasks. However, its ability to adapt to conditions of industrial production in bioreactors was unknown. The aim of this study was to characterize the growth of saUFL-AG-286 cell cultures in UNL-10 medium, as well as its capability to replicate AgMNPV in two different bio-reactors at laboratory scale. The cell line was able to adapt to conditions that can be used at industrial scale, both in an airlift reactor and a stirred reactor, although the former was better than the last to support the cell growth. The infection with AgMNPV in the airlift reactor produced a high yield of occlusion bodies, with very low production of budded virus, the progeny used as inoculums. On the other hand, infection in the stirred reactor yielded high titers of budded virus. These results suggest that a feasible strategy for scaling-up the production of AgMNPV might involve the use of airlift reactors for the scaling-up of cell suspension cultures and the final production of occlusion bodies, while the scaling-up of the viral inoculums being carried out under conditions as those existing in stirred reactors.