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Pathogenicity and Antigenicity of Clones from Strains of Marek's Disease Virus and the Herpesvirus of Turkeys ¹

Regional Poultry Research Laboratory, Animal Science Research Division, Agricultural Research Service, East Lansing, Michigan 48823
Department of Microbiology and Public Health, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48823

ABSTRACT

Virus was extracted by filtration from chicken embryo fibroblast cultures infected with the JM, high passage JM(JMHP), GA, and RPL39 strains of Marek's disease virus (MDV) and from the herpesvirus of turkeys (HVT) and purified by cloning. The plaques produced by clones of HVT, JMHP, and other MDV strains differed in morphology from one another. Clones of MDV varied greatly in pathogenicity for chickens, but JMHP and HVT were nonpathogenic. Two pathogenic clones of JM virus and a clone of JMHP virus lacked the A precipitin antigen present in all other clones tested. All clones had at least one B antigen in common. HVT and MDV clones with and without the A precipitin antigen could be distinguished from each other by the indirect fluorescent antibody test. Changes in virus-host cell relationships, loss of pathogenicity, and loss of the A antigens were independent events.

² This report is a portion of a thesis submitted by the senior author in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree.

¹ Journal article no. 5185 of the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station.