Development of a walleye cell line and use to study the effects of temperature on infection by viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus group IVb.

Abstract

A cell line, WE-cfin11f, with a fibroblast-like morphology was developed from a walleye caudal fin and used to study the intersection of thermobiology of walleye, Sander vitreus (Mitchill), with the thermal requirements for replication of viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV) IVb. WE-cfin11f proliferated from 10 to 32°C and endured as a monolayer for at least a week at 1-34°C. WE-cfin11f adopted an epithelial shape and did not proliferate at 4°C. Adding VHSV IVb to cultures at 4 and 14°C but not 26°C led to cytopathic effects (CPE) and virus production. At 4°C, virus production developed more slowly, but Western blotting showed more N protein accumulation. Infecting monolayer cultures at 4°C for 7days and then shifting them to 26°C resulted in the monolayers being broken in small areas by CPE, but with time at 26°C, the monolayers were restored. These results suggest that at 26°C, the VHSV IVb life cycle stages responsible for CPE can be completed, but the production of virus and the initiation of infections cannot be accomplished.