A major research obstacle in the study of the Norwalk-like human caliciviruses has been our inability to grow them in cell culture. A major goal of this project is to develop systems for study of the basic molecular biology and replication of these fastidious human pathogens. We have developed the molecular characterization of cultivatable feline calicivirus (FCV) as a model for study of the human caliciviruses associated with epidemic gastroenteritis.
