Fig. 8.

Dependence on complementation hinders viral transmission, but has a more modest effect on replication. a Guinea pigs were inoculated with 10⁷ RNA copies of Pan/99-WT virus or Pan/99-M.STOP virus, and nasal washes were collected over 7 days to monitor shedding. NS segment copy number per mL of nasal lavage fluid is plotted (N = 4 animals). b Guinea pigs were inoculated with 10⁷ or 1.23 × 10⁴ RNA copies of Pan/99-WT virus, corresponding to 6.5 × 10³ and eight guinea pig infectious dose (GPID₅₀), respectively. Nasal washes were collected over 7 days to monitor shedding. NS segment copy number per mL of nasal lavage fluid is plotted for high (solid lines) and low (dashed lines) doses (N = 4 animals per group). c, d Guinea pigs were inoculated with 8 × GPID₅₀ of Pan/99-WT virus (c) or Pan/99-M.STOP virus (d) and co-housed with uninfected partners after 24 h. Nasal washes were collected over the course of 8 days to monitor shedding kinetics and transmission between cagemates. NS segment copy number per mL of nasal lavage fluid is plotted (N = 2 animals per cage, four cages per group). In all plots, horizontal dotted lines represents the limit of detection (6696 RNA copies/mL). Source data are provided as a Source Data file