Morphological studies on equine arteritis virus

Summary Electron microscopy of purified preparations of equine arteritis virus (EAV) revealed enveloped, spherical particles with an average diameter of 55 m. The envelope was found to carry tiny projections on the surface, 3 to 5 m in length. No detailed structure of an internal component could be seen.In sections of EAV infected BHK cells 24 hours after inoculation, viral particles were shown to bud from the cytoplasmic matrix into cisternae of the endoplasmic reticulum, the process starting in the vicinity of the Golgi apparatus. The mature particles had an average diameter of 50 m, with an inner core measuring 25m.This study was supported by grant no. B70-16X-744-05-6068-19195 from the Swedish Medical Research Council.