Serological Relationships of the Housefly Virus and Some Members of the Family Reoviridae

Abstract

The use of immunodiffusion to test the serological relationships among members of the family Reoviridae has shown that the housefly virus (HFV) is highly divergent from members of other genera in the family. HFV virions gave five distinct precipitin lines, indicating that they contain five specific antigens. Two of these lines contained recognizable viral structural components when sections of them were examined in the electron microscope. No antibodies to HFV double-stranded RNA were detected in HFV antiserum, indicating that none of the five precipitin lines is a result of HFV double-stranded RNA antigen-antibody reaction.