Genetic Changes in the Influenza Viruses During Growth in Cultured Cells

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses cell's role in controlling virus populations that has led to the use of cultured cells to investigate host effects on virus structure, function, and synthesis. Mice and hamsters were also used for early isolations of influenza virus from human sources but in these hosts, unapparent infections occurred following the initial inoculation. The isolation and growth of influenza viruses in embryonated chicken eggs, first reported only two years after the initial isolation of an influenza virus from a human source, revolutionized influenza virus research. The growth of the influenza viruses in chick embryos also made it possible for earlier investigators to identify another kind of genetic variability, which enables host cells to impose selective pressures on influenza virus populations. The first successful attempts at growing the influenza viruses in cultured tissues of chick embryos were reported shortly after the first isolation of human influenza viruses in ferrets. The use of plaque morphology to identify viral strains or to select viral mutants has in general not been of great value for the study of influenza viruses.