Berne virus is not 'coronavirus-like'

Abstract

In infected embryonic mule skin cells, Berne virus directs the synthesis of two main polypeptides (22K, 20K); in addition, virus-specific proteins with apparent molecular weights of greater than 200K, 80K to 120K, 32K and 17K were detected after radioimmune precipitation. The replication of Berne virus was reduced more than 1000-fold by actinomycin D, when the drug (0.1 to 1.0 micrograms/ml) was added during the first 8 h after infection; alpha-amanitin (25 micrograms/ml) produced a similar though less pronounced effect. U.v. preirradiation of the cells for greater than or equal to 5 s led to a dramatic decrease in the production of extracellular virus. The results presented support our suggestion that Berne virus is a representative of a new family of animal viruses.