CELL CULTURE OF NORMAL TURKEYSA

SUMMARY Seven virus agents producing similar cytopathic effects of the syncytial type and intranuclear inclusions were isolated from individual kidney cell cultures of 7 "healthy" adult turkeys. The properties of the WTHV-1 strain and its serologic nature are described. The infectious virus was strongly cell-associated. The virus produced small clear plaques on the monolayer of poult turkey kidney cells and formed pocks on the chorioallantoic membrane of chicken embryos. Inhibition of plaque formation by 5-bromo-2deoxyuridine suggested that it is a DNA virus. No hemadsorption was demonstrated. The intranuclear virus particles in thin sections were composed of an electron-dense core measuring about 60 mM, a capsid about 85 X 100 mM, and an envelope about 125 X 165 mu in diameter. Antibodies were demonstrated in serums of infected turkeys by the agar gel precipitation and fluorescent staining techniques but not by neutralization tests. On the basis of these characteristics the WTHV-1 strain should be classified into the group B herpesviruses.