An improved dot-blot method for virus detection in chicken embryo fibroblast cultures

Induction of humoral and cellular immune responses in mice by a recombinant fowlpox virus expressing the E2 protein of bovine viral diarrhea virus

A recombinant fowlpox virus (rFPV/E2) expressing the E2 protein of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) was constructed and characterized. Mice were immunized with recombinant virus and both humoral and cellular immune responses were studied. rFPV/E2 induced BVDV-specific antibodies which were detected by ELISA. In addition, mouse sera were shown to neutralize BVDV. A cytokine ELISA assay revealed that mice vaccinated with rFPV/E2 induced 7-fold more interferon-gamma than parental fowlpox virus.

Analysis of fowlpox virus DNA replication and mapping

A physical map was generated for the fowlpox virus Chick-N-Pox vaccine strain DNA genome for EcoRI, BamHI, NcoI, and PstI. The gel profiles resulting from EcoRI, BamHI, BglII, NcoI, StyI, PstI, and PvuII digestions were analyzed by agarose and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The size of the fowlpox virus genome was estimated from these digests to be 289–301 kb. Replication of fowlpox virus DNA in QT-35 cells was followed and indicated that viral DNA replication initiated at 6–8 h postinfection in these cells.Key words: physical mapping, fowlpox virus, QT-35 cells, DNA replication.