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Updated: Sep 28, 2026
Plaque Assay for Murine Norovirus
Published on: August 22, 2012
A feline kidney cell line-based plaque assay for feline calicivirus, a surrogate for Norwalk virus
S Bidawid1, N Malik, O Adegbunrin
1Health Canada, Food Directorate, Bureau of Microbial Hazards, PL#2204A2, Tunney's Pasture, Sir F.R.G. Banting Building, Rose Ave., Ont., K1A 0L2, Ottawa, Canada. sabah_bidawid@hc-sc.gc.ca
Abstract:
Feline calicivirus (FCV) has been used by researchers as a surrogate for Norwalk virus (NV), since they share a similar genomic organization, physicochemical characteristics, and are grouped in the same family, Caliciviridae. Unlike NV, however, FCV can grow in established cell lines and produce a syncytial form of cytopathic effect. In this report, we describe the development and standardization of a plaque assay for FCV using monolayers of an established line of feline kidney (CrFK) cells in 12-well cell culture plates. The assay method has demonstrated reproducibility, ease of performance and resulted in clear plaque zones, readable in 24 h after virus inoculation. The infectivity titre of the virus by this plaque assay agreed well with tissue culture infectious dose(50) (TCID(50)) determinations. The described plaque assay would be a valuable tool in conducting various quantitative investigations using FCV as a model for NV and Norwalk-like viruses (NLV).
