Comparison of eight different procedures for harvesting avian reoviruses grown in Vero cells.

14 avian reovirus isolates adapted to replicate in an African green monkey (Vero) cell line were studied for the nature of their replication. The growth curves of 5 viruses showed them to be highly cell-associated in Vero cells. Different procedures were examined for releasing the cell-associated virus following propagation in Vero cells, including several freeze-thaw cycles, treatment with sterile distilled deionized water (ddH2O), freon extraction, and trypsin treatment. Treatment of virus infected cultures with ddH2O was the most effective, and trypsin treatment was the least effective procedure for dissociation of virus from cells. Treatment of virus infected cultures with ddH2O is a simple and effective procedure which can be used where large amounts of virus are required for experimental purposes.

Characterization of monoclonal antibodies against bovine herpesvirus 1 gD fusion protein expressed in E. coli.

A total of 20 hybridoma cell lines secreting monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against E. coli expressed bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1) gD fusion protein were produced following the fusion of Sp2/0 myeloma cells with splenocytes from BALB/c mice immunized previously with immunoaffinity purified BHV-1 gD fusion protein. An indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) using BHV-1 infected MDBK cells was used for the selection of positive hybridomas secreting specific antibody. The monoclonal antibody isotypes were 11 IgM, six IgG2b, one IgG1 and two IgG3. All MAbs reacted positively with the E. coli expressed BHV-1 gD fusion protein, BHV-1 infected MDBK cell lysates and PCR BHV-1 gD transcription-translation polypeptide antigens by an ELISA.

Development of genomic probes to Sarcocystis cruzi (Apicomplexa).

A genomic library of Sarcocystis cruzi sporozoite DNA was constructed in bacteriophage lambda gt10. Recombinant phages containing insert DNA were selected by growth on Escherichia coli strain C600 hflA150. Of 14 clones examined, 11 contained DNA inserts ranging in size from approximately 1.45 kilobase (kb) to 6.18 kb. Insert DNA from four of these clones specifically hybridized to 32P-labelled S. cruzi merozoite DNA. One of these insert DNA, clone SL41, was selected and labelled with 32P. This probe did not hybridize with the other ten DNA inserts nor with bovine cellular DNA, but it hybridized with sporozoite, merozoite and bradyzoite DNA preparations. The SL41 probe could detect merozoite DNA in as little as 17 ng total DNA. Genomic probes detecting developmental stages of Sarcocystis spp. could provide an improved means is diagnosis of acute bovine sarcocystosis.

Isolation and propagation of infectious bursal disease virus using the ovine kidney continuous cell line.

Twenty-six samples known to contain infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) were examined by virus-isolation attempts on ovine kidney (OK) cell line, Vero cell line, and chicken embryo fibroblast (CEF) cultures. Virus was isolated from two of 26 samples, three of 26 samples, and three of 25 samples on OK, Vero, and CEF cultures, respectively. However, in contrast to IBDV replication in Vero and CEF cultures, isolated virus was unable to induce serially sustained cytopathic effects (CPE) during successive passages in the OK cell line, unless cell lysates were treated with chloroform between every other passage. The cytopathogenicity of the untreated virus passaged in OK cells was revived and maintained upon passage in Vero cells. An initial single passage of laboratory or field material in OK cells followed by further passages in Vero cells resulted in virus isolation from six of 26 samples, which was better virus recovery than when either cell line was used alone or when CEF cultures were used. Twenty of the 26 test samples were originally positive when examined by nucleic acid hybridization with radiolabeled IBDV cDNA, indicating that some of the samples that were negative upon virus isolation using OK and Vero cells may have contained inactivated virus.

Chymotrypsin and trypsin sensitivities of avian reoviruses.

Experiments were undertaken to examine the chymotrypsin sensitivity and trypsin sensitivity of 13 avian reoviruses, and to determine if there was any correlation with pathogenicity of some chicken reoviruses. A wide variation in the degree of sensitivity of avian reoviruses to chymotrypsin and trypsin was observed. Overall, the infectivity of the 13 avian reoviruses for Vero cells was markedly reduced by treatment with 0.01% chymotrypsin (the lowest concentration tested) while 0.5% trypsin significantly reduced the infectivity of 9 of 13 strains. Comparison of four avian reoviruses, three resistant and one sensitive to trypsin, for pathogenicity in day old chicks following oral inoculation showed the strains that were resistant to trypsin to be more pathogenic. Tenosynovitis and virus persistence in intestines, liver, heart and hock joint tissues occurred only in chickens inoculated with the trypsin resistant strains. It is concluded that the degree of sensitivity to chymotrypsin and trypsin among avian reoviruses is heterogenous. Sensitivity to trypsin influenced the development of tenosynovitis based on microscopic lesions and virus persistence in tissues.

Establishment of conditions for the detection of bovine herpesvirus-1 by polymerase chain reaction using primers in the thymidine kinase region.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detection of bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1) was developed and optimized using 22 bp sense and 20 bp antisense primers in the thymidine kinase (TK) coding region. The amplification product is 183 bp long. The PCR optimization was done using BHV-1 tissue culture supernate (BHV-1TCS), concentrated BHV-1 tissue culture supernate (cBHV-1TCS) and sucrose gradient purified BHV-1 (pBHV-1). The sensitivity of four methods of sample preparation which are standard DNA extraction, modified proteinase K (PK) digestion, GeneReleaserTM + 34 cycles or + 44 cycles, and boiling were compared with virus isolation (VI) using BHV-1TCS. The incorporation of 10% glycerol in the reaction mixture, the incubation in PK for 18 hours and predenaturation of samples and cooling in ice prior to PCR were essential for the amplification of BHV-1 DNA for samples prepared by standard DNA extraction and modified PK digestion. The preparation of samples by Gene-ReleaserTM, a proprietary nucleic acid releasing cocktail, showed 10 to 1,000-fold increase in sensitivity compared to standard DNA extraction and modified PK digestion. No amplification was observed in samples prepared by boiling. The sample preparation of BHV-1 LA strain by GeneReleaserTM showed sensitivity equivalent to virus isolation. The BHV-1 TK PCR using GeneReleaserTM has a detection limit of 1 picogram and 10 fentograms of purified BHV-1 DNA using ethidium bromide stained gel and Southern blot hybridization, respectively. It could detect viral DNA in 1,000 infected cells in a total suspension of 10,000 cells using either ethidium bromide stained gel or Southern blot hybridization.

Amplification of strains of bovine herpesvirus 1 by use of polymerase chain reaction with primers in the thymidine kinase region.

A primer pair was designed from the published nucleotide sequence of the coding region of the bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1) thymidine kinase (tk) gene for use in detection of the virus by use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of 12 BHV-1 strains (3 ATCC and 9 local isolates). A tk deletion mutant BHV-1, and 2 BHV-4 strains from ATCC were used as negative controls. One strain each of feline herpes-virus, equine herpesvirus, and bovine adenovirus, and 2 noninoculated bovine cultured cells--bovine fetal testis and Madin-Darby bovine kidney--also were examined to verify specificity of the primers. A PCR product, 183 bp long, was detected by ethidium bromide staining after agarose gel electrophoresis, when purified DNA from cell cultures infected with BHV-1 strain LA was used as template. Specificity of the PCR product was confirmed by restriction digestion with Sac II enzyme and Southern blot hybridization. Amplification was detected by ethidium bromide staining of agarose gels and/or Southern blot hybridization with the radiolabeled PCR product of the LA strain in similarly prepared DNA templates of 5 other BHV-1 strains, 2 obtained from ATCC and 3 of the 9 local isolates. In a modified PCR protocol, using virus suspensions treated with a nucleic acid-releasing cocktail, substantial amplification was obtained for the 3 BHV-1 strains from ATCC and for all 9 local bovine herpesvirus field isolates.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Genome cloning and analysis of the large RNA segment (segment A) of a naturally avirulent serotype 2 infectious bursal disease virus.

The genome of infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) of serotype 2 (strain OH) has been cloned, and 3171 nucleotides of genome segment A cDNA sequence have been determined for the first time. Sequence homology of OH-IBDV with the most distant serotype 1 IBDV at the nucleotide level is 83.1%, and the amino acid sequence homology of the polyprotein is 89.6%. Alignment of the polyprotein amino acid sequences showed the hypervariable region in VP2 to be 151-152 amino acid residues long in IBDV. A second variable region, 37 amino acid residues long, was identified in the N-terminal third of the IBDV VP2 molecule. IBDV strains, like the IPNV strains, also contain inverted repeats that may form stem-and-loop structures in the 5' noncoding sequences. These inverted repeats are variable between the two IBDV serotypes, particularly at the AT basepairs.