Objective: To establish a reverse genetic system of rabies virus for producing safe and efficient rabies vaccine.
Method: By reverse genetic and molecular cloning technique, we established two rabies virus rescue systems including (1) help plasmids expressing N, P and L protein, and (2) CMV/T7 and T7 promoter.
Results: Wild-type rERA-VC was rescued by both systems, and had the same growth kinetics as parental virus. The third generation virus could grow to high titer.
Conclusion: The established reverse genetic system for rescuing wild-type rERA-VC provides the possibility of producing safe and efficient rabies virus vaccines.