The nucleic acid of infectious bronchitis virus

Avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) and strain 229E, a virus recently recovered from patients with colds, have been shown to possess a similar distinctive morphology in negatively stained preparations. An electron microscopic study of the morphogenesis of IBV in the chorioallantoic membrane and of strain 229E in WI-38 cells was performed. In infected cells, round electron-dense particles 82 mmu in diameter were observed to form by a process of budding from membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum and cytoplasmic vesicles. The particles in IBV-infected cells were similar in size and shape to those in strain 229E-infected cells but showed certain differences in internal structure. The evidence that the particles represent virions and the implications of these findings in the classification of this virus group are discussed.