USSR WORK ON THE SYMBIOSIS OF VIRUSES AND MICROBES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700070097-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 19, 2011
• Sequence Number: 97
• Publication Date: June 18, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/19: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700070097-6
CLASSIFICATION S-E-C..R.E-T
CENTRAL NTJELL NCE AGENCY
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS
COUNTRY USSR
SUP'ECT Scientific - Medicine, infectiousldiseases
HOW
PUBLISHED Bimonthly periodical
WHERE
PUBLISHED Moscow
DATE
PUBLISHED Jan/Feb 1952
LANGUAGE Russian
111110000NIIU CONTAIN[ IONO11000N UNCTION TOO NALONAI D[TIIN[
Or NI SOUND Nri110 WITxIN TNI 010x1.[ or 10NIO0ASI ACT ND
Y. N. C.. NI MO NI. U AN[ODI1. ITS TIIANNOINOIDN OA TIN NHILATION
Mr r ANN10
OS 111 CONTINII IO TO AN U100TMONI[ID 110NON 11 .OD.
NIIIT[D NT 1.t. IINN00IC1ION OI rxll IONS II IIOHIIIT[D.
CD NO.
DATE OF
DATE DIST. II Jun 1952
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
Uspekhi Sovremenaoy Biol-, Vol XXXIII. No 1, 1952, pp 81?-100,
T.1SSR WORK ON THE
SL IOSI.SOFrJRLTSES AND MICR03E9
Techniques deanrlbed herein could conceivably be used in developing
methols for biologist warfare,?7
Symbiosis of ro?ir?naes ani micrebee was st31ed In our laboratory dari
1932 1937. The results of oar Investigations taduaed further work on theng
subject elsewhere. At prele-at, a coaslderable amount of data in this field
has been ac;xmr@lated by ae and other authors.
The results obtained In the :nurse of this work suggest that viruses are
not only adsorbed by bacteria and other microorgaTUiome, but also multiply in
the cello of the bacteria by wh1_h they are adsorbed. Experiments to verify
this were carried out by us and other workers on viruses of vaccinia, smallpox
of birds (Variola asium); measles; herpes,, rabies, equine encephalomyelitis,
swine cholera, and the foot and mouth disease.,
We obtained symbiotic '::Itures of vaccinia and Torula kephlr yeast, which
retained their virus artivlty after being reseeded many times (one of them 120
times). These cultures an be used to !:,teat rabbits and guinea pigs, immunity
to smallpox is established in these animals after the infection, but this im-
munity is not very strong or lasting. The virulence of vaccinia in yeast
cultures drops after a while but can be restored by passing the virus through
an animal. Cultures of this type were seat by ua to the following institutes
and were ma'*ta'..,..,r by them. :oztr:: matt: e L. A. 9:e`eYyT the
Central Institute of ?pidemio'_ gy sit %t-:rebt-_ogy, and the Mechntkov Snstt-
~e ae ansr'kov,
1
S-E.C_R.-E_T
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/19: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700070097-6
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/19: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700070097-6
S-E-C-R-E-T
Similar experiments on vaccinia were conducted by other investigators
(Ye. Gil 'gut, 1935; M. Korol'ko-ra; 1935; Izabolinskiy, Levtsov, and Chernyak,
1935; Timakov, 1935). Symbiotic cultures of this vi-us with staphylococci
and earcinae were obtained,
V. Tul'chinskaya (1936) developed cultures of Variola avium or. Torula
kephir which were active up to the 44th generation,
Work on artifical cultures of rabies with yeast did not lead to any positive
results which could be confirmed, but some success was reported by at least one
group (Rozengol'ts and Karnaukhova, 1934) in preparing a culture of rabies with
Mier. lysodeicticus.
Of great interest is the work done by S. Minervin and Ye, Rapoport (1936)
on symbiotic: rabies bacteria cultures which develop under natural conditions.
They cult.vated on blood agar miaroorgemftm.bb ;atned"'rom .bhe..or,al regiolfer,bf
dogs which died of rabies and infected rabbits subdurally with 5-10 bacterial
bodies taken from the bouillon culture grown for 3-5 days (up to the 7th gener-
ation). After incubation, which continued for 9-60 days, the animals developed
typical cases of experimental rabies. Furthermore, the disease could be passed
repeatedly from one rabbit to another. The organs and blood of the diseased
rabbits remained bacteriologically sterile, The investigators did not ob-
serve typical Negri bodies in the brains of the diseased animals, but es-
tablished the presence of formations similar to these bodies. The beet re-
sults in the experiments in question were obtained with a certain gram-positive
bacillus and a straptr,~-,ervcus.
Symbiosis of the type encountered in the case of rabies virus does not
necessarily imply complete
Krug during symbiosis. priervation nncip l of eft fecall
is apoar ouenl y that the virus preserved in a bacterial culture und r conditionswhich would preclude vrus is
survival otherwise, pr its
In the case of a virus like that of tick encephalitis, which affects the
central nervous system and by-passes nonsterile organs and tissues of the
animal organism, symbiosis is possible only with bacteria living in the body
of the tick. It would be of interest to investigate the virus of tick enceph-
alitis from this standpoint.
M. Grundfest (1934) obtained positive results with herpes-Torula kephir
cultures.
Symbiotic cultures of the virus of hog cholera were studied by Likhacher
(1937)? Basing his work on the fact that enterococci and earcinae are most
often isolated from the blood of hogs suffering from cholera, Likhachev
tempted to breed symbiotic cultures of the virus of hog cholera on these
bacteria. He found that the fifth, tenth, and 21st generation of such
cultures produced hog cholera in young pigs. Furthermore, the disease could
be transmitted by injecting the blood of animals which had been infected into
other animals, or by keeping healthy pigs next to the infected pigs. I?mnity
to hog cholera was not established by the injection of a 21st generation culture
(the ninth and tenth generation were not tested as far as their power to confer
immunity is concerned). Cultures of enterococci or sarcinae without hog cholera
virus did not produce any pathological symptoms In young pigs.
Interesting results were obtained ;,,, eymblot_c c;;_turee of the virus of
foot and mouth 1a work started. as early as 1937 ty _. r:i.
in TO r. :.,senn~ .^ _ oc- 3,L^Ceej`_. sythin,_:c =yr~m..:s of this v from
in
Via paws of g~nea T `? 7cst` 'rove was ab- to isolate from
pigs infected with foot and mouth disease a slowly growing
- 2 -
S-E-C-R_E-T
sea. . _
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/19: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700070097-6
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/19: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700070097-6
streptococcus which definitely was established to be a virus carrier. The
symbiotic culture on this streptococcus infected guinea pigs with foot and
mouth disease up to the ninth generation of the culture. On the other hand,
reseeding the virus without bacteria did not keep it alive later than the
third generation. The work was not continued beyond this point, and the re-
sults were never published.
In 1936, in Germany, K. Poppe and G. Busch developed cultures of foot
and mouth disease virus on several species of yeasts. The cultures prepared
by '.hem were reportedly active up to the 60th generation,
Although the causative factor of typhus is a rickettsia rather than an
ultravirus, it behaves similarly to viruses In that it is a cell parasite
and cannot propagate on artificial nutritive media. It also shares with ultra-
viruses the property of being adsorbed on microbes and entering into symbiosis
with them. The fact that rickettsiae can exist only as cell parasites must
have contributed to their adaptation as far as symbiosis with microbes in-
variably found in the intestine of lice is concerned. We, and later Minervin
(1935), established that the causative factor of typhus forms symbiotic cultures
with Proteus wuulgaris (including Proteus X199?, and that it modifies the prop-
erties of Proteus. R. Gel'tser ant S. Nemshi'ov 11934) cultivated the causative
factor of typhus, obtained from the blood of diseased persons, on Sacharomyces
cerevisae and Torula kephir, These symbiotic cultures proved to be suitable
for the production of immune sera by the ir'_ection of horses, calves, or rams.
Further results on aymIn otic iultures of typhus rickettsia were obtained by
A. Yakovlev (;193':), G.lalina and M. Danishevskaya (1933), K. Tokarevich and
R. Hlyacho (1935), Ye. Le kor?ch ;193:'),A. Afenas'yeva and N. Strekhova (1934),
V. Elan, E. Frekman, ana K, o_tan (.. 35), M. Gnutenko and V, Friauf (1935),
A. Kompaneyets, et al, !1936:, S. Minervin, B. Zil'berman, and V. Gebril'skiy
(1936), etc. These investigators used sarcinae; kephir, bread, and beer yeast;
proteus; and bacteria isolated from the intestine of lice. Some of the results
obtained by them were positive, and others were negative. Minervin and his
group (1936) isolated from the intestine of lice taken from typhus patients
bacterial cultures which produced typhus on being injected subcutaneously into
guinea pigs. In some cases the disease could be passed through the brain of
guinea pigs, while the brain remained bacteriologically sterile. Subsequently,
Zil'berman and Gebril'skiy (1938) reported that the fourth and sixth gener-
ations of typhus rickettsiae cultures on bacteria isolated from the intestine
of lice did not exhibit the presence of the causative facto: of typhus when
attempts were made to infect guinea pigs with these cultures, Zil'berman and
Gebril'akly'a attempts to cultivate the causative factor of typhus on Proteus
vulgaris, yeasts, and sarcinas were also unsuccessful according to their re-
port. They found, furthermore, that some strains of Proteus vulgaris which
had been in contact with the blow of typhus patients acquired the capacity
of being agglutinated by the serer of rabbits immunized with X19; also that
the carrier microorganism alone, in some cases, produced pathogenic phenomena
in guinea pigs.
In evaluating these results, one must realize that all authors who studied
symbiotic cultures of typhus compared the properties of these cultures with
those of a pure culture of the -.ausative factor of typhus which had been thor-
oughly adapted to guinea pigs. x'rurally, symbiotic cultures cannot be expected
to exhibit to a full extent the y.operties of a pure culture. On the whole,
it seems to be established that the carrier microorganisms are harmless, while
their symbiotL ci:ltares prod-:red aymn-.ams ?rhi-h a,:- t,u?-a_ -= typhus,
carrier bac-.sr:a you a re-:sue = ~_?. e=4 kept. =or many months in
a constant temperature closet
3
S-E. (`-.R-E,-T
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/19: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700070097-6
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/19: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700070097-6
The data cited above show convincingly that symbiosis between viruses and
microbes exists. The phenomenon in question has been very aptly named viro-
phoria. Data have been published by A. Yakovlev (1) and othere which indicate
that viruses survive in a medium populated by microbes without entering into
any close contact with them. Apparently some microbes may produce substances
which aid in the survival of viruses. Other types of symbiosis, besides viro-
phoric, also probably exist. The similarity between virophoria and bacteriophagy
is apparent: the bacteriophages, which are very similar to viruses, may have
evolved from viruses existing in symbiosis with bacteria. This theory may be
tested experimentally. If, for instance, we assume that typhoid bacteriophage
has originated from a virophorous strain of an ancestor of the present typhoid
bacillus which carried a virus having affinity to cells of the intestine, some
of this affinity for intestinal cells m?,ist have been preserved in typhoid bacter-
iophage. A study of this and similar problems.may help in developing better
methods for the use of bacteriophages in the prophylaxis and therapy of in-
fectious diseases.
The following lines of lrveatigation. appear promising:
1, One should investigate the eymbiosls of viruses with bacteria which
occur together with them under natual conditions, Thus, one should study
symbiosis Of varlola virus with bacteria of the skin and mucous membranes, of
the virus of rabies with bacteria which occur in the saliva of dogs, of the
virus of lymphogran-clomatosis of the groan with skin bacteria, of the virus of
influenza with bacteria of the mouth and nasopharynx, of the virus of tick
encephalitis with ta:teria i.afestiag ticks, cf the virus of Apaaese encephalitis
with bacteria of mosquitoes? etc
2. One sho':ld ac:aay all forms of =ymt:.osie rather than only propagation
of viruses in symbiotic cultures. From the practical viewpoint, (capacity of
carrying the virus which Is not necessarily accompanied by propagation of the
virus in the microbial cell appears to be more important.
3. Virophorl.a as it at:ure innder nai'eral conditions should be studied
by isolating virophori bacterial crclt:ures from a:.seased tissues.,
if Particular attention should be paid to the preservation of the virus
in virophoric c'clta-ee sad :onditlc~_3 which -..or_tr-tute to th_s preservation.
5. The capacity of ml cultures to become virophoric should be in-
vestigated under natural cordt.tlons, ,.,e ty Introducing the microbial culture
under investigation into the affllt.-ed :iesce sun then isolating it from this
tissue within a few days.
In studying virophoria, close attentl.on eho:old be paid to changes which
the carrier microbe, as well a< the virus, undergo in virophoric cultures.
For instance, Meysell i:i936- observed a number of cytological changes to which
yeast Is subjected in virophoric. cultures containing smallpox virus.
One must differentiate Oetwsen pathogenic effects produced by the virus
and those which are due to the carrier ta.tert,ei Far instance, when a viro-
phoric culture of staphylococ,:: which carry influenza virus is investigated,
it should be tested on healthy mice, mice treated with ant'-influenza virus
serum, and mice treated with ecti.e*.sphv:tun i se.:n=,
viruses are preserved :orger :ha.n _l, =he atsence of _a -.e- ==robes, a reservoir
of pathogenic virs. is maintained by this means in nature. Symbiosis mast be
taken into consideration in clarifying the epidemiology of some virus diseases,
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/19: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700070097-6
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/19: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700070097-6
e.g., poliomyelitis. Adsorption. of viruses on bacteria is also of diagnostic
importance. Thus, Sergieyev and his group (2), as well as others, have shown
that bacteria, on adsorption of virusesy may be used for detecting antibodies
to these viruses: agglutination of bacteria loaded with the virus in question
takes place under the action of the antibodies.
A study of the symbiosis of viruses and microbes would tend to rectify the
errors of investigators who, on isolating carrier microbes in virus diseases,
assumed that the microbes in question are the causative factor of the disease.
By looking at the photomicrographs with which G. Bosh'yan's book (3) is illus-
trated, nne can readily see, to mention one instance, that the microorganisms
referred to as a spherical modification of the causative factor of equine in-
fectioU9 anemia are actually yeast. Since yeast cannot produce the disease in
question, one must assume that it a^ted in this case as a carrier of the virus
of infectious anemia.
Phenomena of symbiosis do no- compiiee the whole range of relationships
between viruses and microbes in nature: there may be also antagonism. The
problem of antagonism acquires importatc.e in connection with the recent dis-
covery that the polysaccharides of some bacteria have an inhibiting action on
the propagation of certain viruses., Further study of problems in this field
which were first fo:?muiated and investigated by USSR scientists, will enrich
science with knowledge that is both of theoretical and pract-_ 91 significance.
E BIIOGRAPHI
1. A. Yakovlev, Zhur. Mikrobiol., Epi.demiol.. 1 Immunol., No 12y 28, 1949
2. P. Sergieyevy N. Demina; F hyaza-tse-a, Zhur. Mlcrobiol., Epidemiol., i
Immunol., No 3. 1L,. 194=
G. Bosh yen, 0 Prirode Vi.xsor i Mn.Yrobov IOi the Nature of Viruses and
Microbes), 1950
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/19: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700070097-6