Date of Award:

5-1-1981

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Biology

Department name when degree awarded

Life Sciences:Biology

Committee Chair(s)

Rex S. Spendlove

Committee

Rex S. Spendlove

Committee

John R. Simmons

Committee

Bill B. Barnett

Committee

Robert W. Sidwell

Abstract

Bovine, simian, porcine, and human rotaviruses exhibited 8.0, 10.3, 35.4 and 3.2 fold infectivity enhancement in the presence of trypsin although optimal conditions of treatment varied between strains. Infectious titers of bovine and simian rotavirus preparations treated with 10 μg/ml trypsin decreased substantially over a one hour incubation period at 37° C. Serial passage of rotaviruses in cells without trypsin enhancement resulted in significant losses of infectivity with each passage until no infectious virus could be detected. A specific, trypsin-mediated cleavage of rotavirus structural polypeptide P3, which was consistent between rotavirus strains, resulted in the formation of two major cleavage products, P5 and VP8. Pelleting and buoyant density studies indicated that these cleavage products remain associated with rotavirus particles. Trypsin proteolysis converts potentially infectious rotavirus particles to infectious virus by allowing this fraction to uncoat in infected cells. This results in significantly higher levels of infectivity in rotavirus preparations treated with trypsin.

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