Addition of
concanavalin A to BHK cell monolayers infected with
vesicular stomatitis virus prevented the formation of mature virus particles. In these cells the virus
glycoprotein (G) was inserted into the plasma membrane and the
protein that is in close association with the
ribonucleic acid,
protein N, was found in the cytoplasm. At times when cells infected in the absence of the
lectin were liberating virus into the supernatant medium, the M or matrix
protein was found in association with the plasma membrane of the
lectin-treated cells. The removal of the
lectin from the cells with
alpha-methyl-D-glucoside 3 h after
infection was followed by the immediate release of mature virus particles. The rate of virus release from these cells was the same as that from cells infected in the absence of the
lectin. Addition of
cycloheximide, and inhibitor of
protein synthesis, immediately after
alpha-methyl-D-glucoside treatment of the cells did not alter the rate of virus production, suggesting that the
proteins required for virus synthesis were available in the
lectin-treated cells and that virus assembly took place without further
protein synthesis on removal of the
lectin.