title: Genotypic selection following coinfection of cultured cells with subgroup 1 and subgroup 2 human rotaviruses.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine why identifiable reassortants between subgroup 1 and subgroup 2 rotaviruses have been so rarely isolated from human specimens. Cultured cells were coinfected with pairs of subgroup 1 and 2 human rotaviruses and passaged multiple times to simulate natural reassortant formation and selection in vivo. After coinfection of MA-104 cells with subgroup 1 (DS-1) and subgroup 2 (either Wa or P) strains, approximately 14% of the plaque-picked progeny were shown to be reassortants. During multiple passages of these coinfected cultures, however, complete (Wa virus coinfection) or nearly complete (P virus coinfection) loss of detectable DS-1 segments from progeny was observed. Thus, when all segments of the subgroup 2 viruses were present in coinfected cultures, these segments dominated in the selected progeny. Coinfection with subgroup 1-subgroup 2 rotavirus reassortants and the DS-1 strain followed by multiple passages, however, resulted in complete loss of some segments from the subgroup 2 strains originally present in the reassortants. Therefore, segments from the parental subgroup 2 viruses appeared to be selected in toto during multiple passages because they were dominant as a group, not because individual segments of these viruses were consistently favoured over their subgroup 1 virus counterparts.
authors.affiliation: James N. Gamble Institute of Medical Research, Cincinnati, Ohio 45219.
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Knowlton
mesh_terms: D002460:Cell Line; D004586:Electrophoresis; D005814:Genes, Viral; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D012401:Rotavirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D012692:Serial Passage; D012703:Serotyping