Isolation and characterization of temperature sensitive mutants of Broadhaven virus, a Kemerovo group orbivirus (family, Reoviridae).

Abstract

Eighteen stable temperature sensitive (ts) mutants of Broadhaven virus were isolated without the aid of mutagens. Spontaneous mutants were detected using 41 degrees C as the nonpermissive temperature and 36 degrees C as the permissive temperature. High frequency pairwise recombination defined five recombination groups. Four mutants belonged to group I, three to group II, six to group III, two to group IV, and two to group V. ts 7 was a possible double mutant representing lesions corresponding to those of groups III and V mutants. This is the first reported isolation of temperature sensitive mutants of a tick-borne orbivirus.