A Stable Syncytial Mutant of Herpes Simplex Type 2 Virus

Abstract

SUMMARY A stable mutant of type 2 herpes simplex virus has been obtained with plaques which consist entirely of flat syncytial cells. The syn plaques could easily be differentiated from wild-type syn + plaques and they retained their syn morphology on prolonged incubation and when assayed in different cell lines. Serologically, syn virus reacted as type 2 herpes simplex and showed a rate of reversion from syn to syn + of 3.6 × 10−4. The syn marker should be a valuable third marker for the preparation of a preliminary linkage map of the type 2 virus genome.