INTERFERENCE FOLLOWING MIXED INFECTION OF REOVIRUS ISOLATES IS LINKEDTO THE M2 GENE

Following infection by pairs of reovirus isolates consisting of combin ations of reovirus T1 Lang, T2 Jones, or T3 Dearing, we found that one of the isolates interfered with the yield of progeny RNA derived from the other parents. The most significant interference was produced by T2 Jones or T3 Dearing, when mixed with T1 Lang. Genetic analysis reve aled that the presence of the M2 gene in the interfering parent (in th e T1 Lang x T3 Dearing pair) was linked to interference. Studies on in terference in infected cells indicated that interference occurs after adsorption and penetration.