Inhibition of growth of measles virus by mycoplasma in cell-cultures and the restoring effect of arginine

Presence of mycoplasma in MK cell cultures caused an inhibition of measles virus, as revealed by a lower plating efficiency. When arginine is supplemented to the cell-system, mycoplasma contaminated cells yield plaque titers as high as those of uncontaminated cells. The essential role of arginine for plaque formation of measles virus is suggested also by experiments in which arginine added to the agar overlay restored the plating efficiency of measles virus in cultures maintained in a minimal nutrient medium.