GROWTH-CHARACTERISTICS OF FOWL ADENOVIRUS TYPE-8 IN A CHICKEN HEPATOMA-CELL LINE

Fowl adenoviruses, many of which appear to be non-pathogenic, are ubiq uitous in birds. In addition, the genome of these viruses is large, ma king them ideal candidates for construction as vectors for foreign gen es. Current methods to cultivate fowl adenoviruses use primary cell cu ltures derived from embryonated chicken eggs. In order to provide a mo re suitable culture method, the growth of fowl adenovirus type 8 (FAdV -8) was investigated in CH-SAH, a continuous hepatoma cell line. A one step growth curve demonstrated release of extracellular virus beginni ng by 18 h p.i. and with a final yield about 100 fold higher than that in chicken embryo liver cells. Viral DNA synthesis was first detected 8 h prior to this. The CH-SAH cell line supported the production of p rogeny viruses similar to the wild-type virus after being transfected with purified FAdV-8 DNA. This study demonstrated that the continuous hepatoma cell line is an appropriate in vitro host for FAdV-8. (C) 199 8 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.