Detection of bovine leukemia virus by syncytium assay

When various indicator cells, including virus transformed and nontransformed cells, were cocultivated with bovine leukemia virus-producing cells, strong positive syncytia formation was found in transformed cells one day after cocultivation. The results of comparison of bovine leukemia virus antibody titers and the detection of bovine leukemia by the syncytium assay showed 89% of serologically positive cows were positive for bovine leukemia virus, whereas no reactors were found in serologically negative cows. However, the frequency of bovine leukemia virus detection differed according to the difference of incubation periods in the syncytium assay. Therefore, it is important to choose the appropriate indicator cell and culture conditions for the detection of bovine leukemia virus in the syncytium assay.