Colony morphology, cell growth and viral radiosensitivity as parameters for detecting strain differences in Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).

Several parameters of two lymphocyte-transforming Epstein-Barr viruses (EBVs), B95-8 and Olare, derived from infectious mononucleosis (IM) and African Burkitt's lymphoma (BL), respectively, were compared to determine if there were biological differences between Epstein-Barr viral strains. Morphology of transformed colonies, growth of transformed cell lines, sensitivity to UV light and X-irradiation, as well as EBV-related, antigens were investigated in autochthonous cell lines. The morphology of transformed colonies was found to differ consistently both in new transformants and in lines which had been continuously growing in culture for almost 1 year. The BL transformants grew to greater density than did the IM transformants, and BL-derived virus was more sensitive to both UV light and X-irradiation. No immunologic differences were noted in the strains in assays performed for EBV-related antigens.