Host effect on vesicular stomatitis virus morphogenesis and "T" particle formation in reptilian, avian, and mammalian cell lines.

The morphogenesis of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) in three reptilian cell lines (turtle heart, gecko lung, and viper spleen) was studied by thin section electron microscopy. Simultaneous growth studies were conducted in reptilian, chick embryo fibroblast, and BHK/21 cells to compare the yields of infectious VSV during serial passages. The mean length of gecko lung cell VSV measured from electron micrographs is statistically significantly shorter than that of VSV replicating in other reptilian systems studied. This observation, along with comparative growth studies, suggests the predilection of gecko lung cells to form "auto-interfering" truncated "T" rather than infectious "B" VS virions.