title: A feline kidney cell line-based plaque assay for feline calicivirus, a surrogate for Norwalk virus.
abstract: Feline calicivirus (FCV) has been used by researchers as a surrogate for Norwalk virus (NV), since they share a similar genomic organization, physicochemical characteristics, and are grouped in the same family, Caliciviridae. Unlike NV, however, FCV can grow in established cell lines and produce a syncytial form of cytopathic effect. In this report, we describe the development and standardization of a plaque assay for FCV using monolayers of an established line of feline kidney (CrFK) cells in 12-well cell culture plates. The assay method has demonstrated reproducibility, ease of performance and resulted in clear plaque zones, readable in 24 h after virus inoculation. The infectivity titre of the virus by this plaque assay agreed well with tissue culture infectious dose(50) (TCID(50)) determinations. The described plaque assay would be a valuable tool in conducting various quantitative investigations using FCV as a model for NV and Norwalk-like viruses (NLV).
authors.affiliation: Health Canada, Food Directorate, Bureau of Microbial Hazards, PL#2204A2, Tunney's Pasture, Sir F.R.G. Banting Building, Rose Ave., Ont., K1A 0L2, Ottawa, Canada. sabah_bidawid@hc-sc.gc.ca
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bidawid
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Malik
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Adegbunrin
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Sattar
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Farber
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017927:Calicivirus, Feline / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002415:Cats; D002460:Cell Line; D003470:Culture Media; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000166:cytology* / Q000821:virology*; D009663:Norwalk virus / Q000254:growth & development*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D010948:Viral Plaque Assay
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media