Primary in vivo transcription of vesicular stomatitis virus and temperature-sensitive mutants of five vesicular stomatitis virus complementation groups.

The process of adsorption and RNA transcription by vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) in cells has been followed by using highly labeled preparations of VSV virions. The initial transcription process (primary parental transcription) is rapid and takes about 4 min to develop complete transcripts of the input genome. The optimal cell temperature for in vivo transcription is between 36 and 39.5 C, although transcription can be detected at 18 C. No negative effect on primary parental transcription was obtained by the presence of actinomycin D, puromycin, or cycloheximide. Demonstrable primary transcription by selected temperature-sensitive mutants of all five complementation groups of VSV was obtained at either 31 and 34 C (permissive temperatures for virus production) or 39.5 C (nonpermissive temperature for virus development). VSV grown in hamster (BHK 21) or chicken embryo cells were more efficiently adsorbed and transcribed in BHK cells.