Fish rhabdoviruses: Morphology and ultrastructure of North American salmonid isolates

The morphology and ultrastructure of three North American salmonid pathogens, Oregon sockeye salmon, chinook salmon and infectious hematopoietic necrosis viruses, were examined by thin sectioning and negative staining after growth in fathead minnow cells at 10 ° C. The viruses matured at the plasma membrane of these cells. They were approximately 170 nm in length, 70 nm in width and had internal striations with a periodicity of 5.5nm. They were rounded on one end and planar on the other (i.e., bullet shaped). By morphological criteria, these viruses are rhabdoviruses with dimensions and ultrastructural features similar to vesicular stomatitis virus.