Three‐percent sucrose acts as a thermostabilizer for cell‐adapted foot‐and‐mouth disease virus without any negative effect on viral growth

Aims As cell‐adapted foot‐and‐mouth disease virus (FMDV) with H56R mutation in VP3 has reduced thermostability, this study aimed to investigate the effect of thermostabilizers on cell‐adapted FMDV for vaccine production. Methods and Results We examined the effect of 3% sucrose, 10% (or 25%) glycerol or 10% FBS on cell‐adapted FMDV O/SKR/JC/2014, containing H56R mutation in VP3, as vaccine seed virus at −80, 4, 25 or 37°C for 2, 4 or 7 days. The stabilizing effect of 3% sucrose on O/SKR/JC/2014 was observed at 25, 37°C, and after repeated freeze–thaw cycles. Additionally, we tested the effect of 3% sucrose on the growth of FMDV or cells and did not observe any decrease in either viral growth or cell viability. Conclusions Our study showed the protective effect of 3% sucrose on FMDV infectivity at various temperatures; this virus stock in 3% sucrose could be used for infecting cells without the removal of sucrose. Significance and Impact of the Study We suggest that 3% sucrose‐containing medium could be beneficial for the stable storage and transport of cell‐adapted FMDV.