Host-adaptive antigenic variation in Bunyaviruses.

Bunyamwera virus and snowshoe have virus (family Bunyaviridae) were passaged up to six times through mosquito cells in culture and the resultant viruses were compared to the input, mammalian cell-passed virus using monoclonal antibodies raised against the input virus. The mosquito cell-adapted virus population consisted of mutants which were better adapted to replication in the new host than was the input mammalian cell-passed virus and were differentially susceptible to neutralization by antibody.