Cerulenin, an inhibitor of lipid synthesis, blocks vesicular stomatitis virus RNA replication.

The replication of genomes of animal viruses in the cytoplasm of susceptible cells is usually coupled to specialized membrane structures. The inhibitor of lipid synthesis cerulenin blocks the formation of vesicular stomatitis virus polypeptides when added to cells soon after virus entry, but has much less effect on viral translation, or the acylation of the glycoprotein G, when cerulenin is added later during infection. By contrast, cerulenin powerfully blocks viral RNA synthesis or the incorporation of glycerol into lipids when present at any time after VSV-infection. These findings suggest that the synthesis of VSV RNA is dependent on continuous synthesis of lipids.