Date of Award:

5-1-1982

Document Type:

Dissertation

Degree Name:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department:

Biology

Department name when degree awarded

Life Sciences:Biology

Committee Chair(s)

Rex S. Spendlove

Committee

Rex S. Spendlove

Committee

Larre Egbert

Committee

Jon Takemoto

Abstract

The effect of trypsin on the infectivity and cultivation of rotaviruses has been studied. It was found that trypsin increases the infectivity of bovine, simian and porcine rotaviruses from 10 to 400-fold and that the enzyme increases the yield of bovine rotavirus in cell culture up to 1000-fold. Studies on the mechanism of trypsin enhancement of rotaviral infectivity indicate that the enzyme facilitates the uncoating of parental virus in the infected cell. Studies on the involvement of two particle types in bovine rotavirus replication indicate that the yield of light (L) infectious virions and dense (D) non-infectious particles in various cell lines infected with bovine rotavirus varies, and that the production of infectious virus is related to factors which determine the final ratio of the two particles. When various cell lines were infected with bovine, simian and porcine rotaviruses, particle ratios and infectious virus yields suggest that the virus has primary control over the processes which regulate the final ratio of the two particles and hence, infectious virus production. Studies on particle synthesis under different labeling conditions indicate that D particles serve as morphogenic precursors to L virions. In addition, the L virion was found to be unstable in several cell lines, being degraded to D particles late in the infection. When polypeptide synthesis in rotavirus infected cells was studied, it was found that inhibited synthesis of polypeptides unique to the L virion does not account for the inhibited synthesis of L virions late in the infection in some cell lines.

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