Nd. Lawson et al., RECOMBINANT VESICULAR STOMATITIS VIRUSES FROM DNA, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United Statesof America, 92(10), 1995, pp. 4477-4481
We assembled a DNA clone containing the 11,161-nt sequence of the prot
otype rhabdovirus, vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), such that it coul
d be transcribed by the bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase to yield a ful
l-length positive-strand RNA complementary to the VSV genome, Expressi
on of this RNA in cells also expressing the VSV nucleocapsid protein a
nd the two VSV polymerase subunits resulted in production of VSV with
the growth characteristics of wild-type VSV, Recovery of virus from DN
A was verified by (i) the presence of two genetic tags generating rest
riction sites in DNA derived from the genome, (ii) direct sequencing o
f the genomic RNA of the recovered virus, and (iii) production of a VS
V recombinant in which the glycoprotein was derived from a second sero
type. The ability to generate VSV from DNA opens numerous possibilitie
s for the genetic analysis of VSV replication, In addition, because VS
V can be grown to very high titers and in large quantities with relati
ve ease, it may be possible to genetically engineer recombinant VSVs d
isplaying foreign antigens. Such modified viruses could be useful as v
accines conferring protection against other viruses.