INVESTIGATION OF RECOMBINANTS OF HUMAN INFLUENZA AND FOWL PLAGUE VIRUSES

Recombinants of human influenza type A viruses, A/Krasnodar/101/1959 (H2N2) or A/Habarovsk/15/1976 (H3N2), and fowl plague virus (FPV), strain Weybridge (H(av)IN(eq)I) were obtained. The genome of the recombinant obtained by recombination of influenza A/Habarovsk/15/1976 virus and FPV contained the genes 4 (HA) and 6 (NA) derived from the influenza A/Habarovsk virus and all the other genes [1, 2, 3, 5 (NP), 7 (M), 8 (NS)] from FPV. The genome of the recombinant of A/Krasnodar/101/1959 virus and FPV contained the genes 2,4 (HA) and 6 (NA) derived from influenza A/Krasnodar virus and all the other genes [1,2,5,(NP), 7 (M), 8 (NS)] from FPV. The recombinants, like FPV, gave high virus yields in chick embryos and could multiply at high temperatures (40 and 42 °C), but, like human influenza viruses, were non-pathogenic for chickens and did not replicate in chick embryo fibroblast culture, but did replicate in a human conjunctiva cell line, clone 1-5C-4. The virion transcriptase of the recombinants, in a number of properties determined in vitro, was similar to FPV transcriptase but not to the human influenza virus enzyme.