Replication of reticuloendotheliosis viruses in cell culture: acute infection

Replication of reticuloendotheliosis viruses (REV) in cultures of chicken and duck fibroblasts leads to some cell death soon after infection. This cell killing was used to develop a plaque assay for Trager duck spleen necrosis virus (TDSNV) on duck embryo fibroblasts. A normal replicative cell cycle was required for normal virus production and the development of cytopathic effects in chicken cells exposed to TDSNV. The latent period was about two days. Stationary chicken embryo fibroblasts could be infected by REV; DNA synthesis was required, but protein synthesis was not.