We report the establishment of a reverse-genetics system for the rescue of recombinant influenza C/JJ/50 virus from seven plasmids. The nucleotide sequence of the whole C/JJ/50 genome was determined and full-length cDNAs were cloned into an RNA pol I/pol II-based bidirectional vector. Transfection of Vero cells and subsequent amplification on MDCK cells yielded viral HA titres of 128. The utility of this bidirectional approach was proved by generating a reassortant virus encoding the NS segment from strain C/JHB/1/66 and a virus with mutations in the noncoding ends of PB1. The latter virus, which has a base-pair mutation within the proposed double-stranded region of the PB1 termini, exhibited impaired replication. In conclusion, our efficient seven-plasmid system for the rescue of recombinant influenza C virus may be used to study the influenza C virus life cycle in more detail and for generation of influenza C virus-based vectors.
Keywords: Influenza C virus; noncoding ends; panhandle/corkscrew RNA model; reassortant virus; reverse genetics.