ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the possible members of Reoviridae. Cytoplasmic polyhedroses have been recorded in 201 Lepidoptera, 39 Diptera, 7 Hymenoptera, and 2 Coleoptera. Cytoplasmic polyhedroses are characterized by the presence of polyhedral inclusion bodies, or polyhedra, in the cytoplasm of infected cells. The importance of cytoplasmic lesions, that is, large clusters of virus, seemed to be at the origin of the rupture of the hyperinfected cell, which released a large quantity of virions. The polyhedra consist of a number of virions and a crystalline matrix protein. Genome strands extruding from the virions have been demonstrated with an improved preparative method. The cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus virions are always found in the cytoplasm. The surface projections are observed when the virions are sectioned in an appropriate plane. Lysosomes occasionally contain complete virions at a late stage of infection.
