Amino Acid Requirement for Fibroma Virus Replication in Rabbit Kidney Cells

Abstract

SUMMARY The replication of Shope fibroma virus deoxyribonucleic acid (dna) was partially suppressed in rabbit kidney secondary cells deprived of any one of the amino acids of Eagle's minimal essential medium (mem). Synthesis of infective virus was almost totally inhibited in cultures lacking arginine, glutamine leucine, and methionine. A quantitative study of arginine requirement indicated maximal dna and viral synthesis occurred in cultures containing amino acid at concentrations of 105 μg./ml. or more. Noninfected and infected cultures lacking arginine conserved 4 to 5 times more amino acid than did cultures maintained in complete medium, Synthesis of dna was inhibited in arginine-deprived cultures containing 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine (fudr). Reversal of fudr inhibition by the addition of thymidine allowed rapid dna synthesis which indicated early proteins accumulated in cultures lacking arginine.