Variation in the susceptibility of BHK populations and cloned cell lines to three strains of foot-and-mouth disease virus.

BHK monolayer and suspension cell populations maintained in different laboratories were found to vary in their susceptibility to infection with three strains of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). The susceptibility of parent cell populations was compared with that of individual clones of cells derived from them. The populations tested in this way consisted of a number of cell types, each expressing a different capacity to produce FMDV. The relative numbers of susceptible and insusceptible cells in each population appeared to determine the overall susceptibility of that population. The ability of the FMDV strain Asia 1 Iran 1/73 to multiply was an indicator of the general FMDV susceptibility of a BHK cell population.